It may initially have been a carefree joke but by the end of the night the joke could well have been on the Swans after Mark Seaby's botched attempt at a super-goal cost his team victory against St Kilda in the NAB Cup quarter-final at Etihad Stadium.
Seaby, awarded a 50m penalty in the third term which took him to about 15m from goal, squandered a super-goal by playing on over the mark, meaning his straight shot was awarded only the traditional six points, rather than nine.
The Swans would ultimately lose by a point despite drilling four of the final five goals of the match.
Coach Paul Roos said he had made a joke of the incident with his new ruckman at three quarter-time when the Swans trailed by five points.
"I said: 'If we lose this game by three points, you are going to have to pay the prize-money out of your own pocket'," Roos said.
"The irony of it was we lost by a point, so the boys were giving it to him after the game."
Roos was philosophical about Seaby's decision, even claiming he didn't understand the rule.
"It's one of the anomalies of the competition because if you play in a regular season game, clearly you want your player, if there is no-one on the mark, you are going to want him to play on," he said.
"Maybe it's something they are going to have to look at and give us the three points."
Boom forward Gary Rohan also wasted a nine-point attempt in the third term after missing a relatively easy shot on goal.
Rohan had won a free kick and 50m penalty against Brendon Goddard after he was elbowed in the head when the two clashed on the boundary along centre-wing – an incident the match review panel may scrutinize.
The Swans' pre-season winning streak under Roos may have ended at one but the coach was happy with what had transpired in the win over Carlton and the subsequent defeat.
The Swans have undergone a major revamp over summer, snaring several new faces, including ruckmen Shane Mumford (Geelong) and Seaby (West Coast) and former Hawks Ben McGlynn and Josh Kennedy.
"I think what it shows, medium and long-term, you never really know because it's up to those particular players, but Seab is going to be here for a while," Roos said.
"Mummy is going to be here for a long time, Benny McGlynn is going to be here for a long time, Joey Kennedy, as well as Daniel Currie – I thought his first half tonight was really positive as well."
"I think there are some really good signs for the club, not just for this year but for the years to come."
The Swans will now play Essendon in a NAB Challenge match at Blacktown on Saturday.