Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas is synonymous with footy in Western Australia’s capital but some fans weren’t too sure about his post-match presentation performance as one moment in particular stood out for the wrong reason.

Melbourne ended its 57-year premiership drought by thrashing the Western Bulldogs in Saturday night’s AFL Grand Final and it was party time for everyone associated with the Demons.

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Captain Max Gawn gave a classy post-match speech immediately after the final siren and was just as gracious when stepping onto the dais to receive his premiership medal, thanking the Dogs, his teammates, fans and the AFL for steering the ship through another season plagued by Covid complications.

Dees fans were then left waiting to hear from coach Simon Goodwin, who has been instrumental in guiding the team to the ultimate glory after so many years of pain. He walked onto the stage to receive his medal from West Coast premiership-winning mentor John Worsfold, embraced Gawn and then looked like he was starting to make his way to the microphone to give a shout-out of his own.

But before Goodwin could say his piece, Zempilas continued. “We now have great pleasure in inviting a legend of the Melbourne Football Club, Garry Lyon, to present the premiership cup to captain Max Gawn and coach Simon Goodwin,” he said.

Lyon handed over the silverware and Gawn and Goodwin held the trophy aloft before being mobbed by the rest of the players.

Some fans on social media questioned if Zempilas butchered the presentation by not giving Goodwin the chance to speak — as is customary for the winning team’s coach after a Grand Final.

High-profile former footy star Brendan Fevola was among those to criticise Goodwin’s missed opportunity as others on social media also weighed in.

“Why didn’t Goodwin give a speech? Basil cooked that,” Fevola tweeted.

Radio presenter Sam Wilkinson wrote: “Did Basil forget to let Simon Goodwin say a few words?”

Paige Cardona added: “I just realised @BasilZempilas didn’t ask Simon Goodwin to speak.”

There were plenty more questioning why Zempilas continued talking before Goodwin could speak as the criticism on Twitter piled up.

Sometimes these ceremonies run over time and the Channel 7 presenter and commentator may have been trying to speed things up. There’s also the possibility he simply forgot, or it wasn’t in the running sheet for Goodwin to speak.

Whatever the reason, viewers weren’t too impressed.

The awkward incident comes after Zempilas divided footy fans around Australia with his pre-match suggestion the 60,000 strong crowd at Optus Stadium should stand and applaud late in the third quarter in recognition of those in other states doing it tough in lockdown.

The gesture went down like a lead balloon when it was floated on Friday, as punters called it out for being cringe-worthy.