Rita Panahi: If the AFL wants to turn the game into a quasi-non contact sport, then they should just say so
It seems the AFL is determined to keep fans guessing with bizarre decisions that often defy all logic.
Opinion
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Can the AFL go a single week without beclowning itself with some wild inconsistency or act of hypocrisy.
That is, of course, a rhetorical question.
The AFL’s capacity for asininity is unmatched in Australian sport.
In recent days we’ve seen Melbourne’s Steven May cop a three-week ban for a bump, contact that many former players say was unavoidable in the contest.
Four-time premiership player Isaac Smith and fellow former Hawk Ben Dixon were among those appalled by the decision.
The Melbourne Football Club is appealing the decision and will present its case to the AFL Appeals Board next week.
Also bewildering was the decision not to charge Collingwood captain Darcy Moore for dropping his knees into Josh Treacy’s back. The Match Review Officer determined there was no case to answer. A decision at odds with popular opinion including that of former Richmond champ Jack Riewoldt.
“I reckon that’s a suspension,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy. “That is a knee into the kidneys of a player – a vulnerable player who’s on the ground.”
Last week it was West Coast star Harley Reid who was lucky to escape suspension after kicking Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak. Reid was instead fined $10,000 by the Match Review Officer for “tripping”, down to $6,250 with an early plea. Not bad for a kick that was described by some as a “leg breaker”.
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire wasn’t the only one left perplexed. “That’s four weeks. You can’t kick people in football,” McGuire said. “Corey McKernan lost a Brownlow Medal for giving someone an ankle tap with his hand. Have I lost my mind? Who changed the rules?”
No, you’re not losing your mind, Eddie. It seems the AFL is determined to keep fans guessing with bizarre decisions that often defy all logic. On Wednesday we also saw a first-year Swans’ player, Riak Andrew, banned for five weeks for a homophobic slur, an absurdly harsh and disproportionate penalty. This follows the Eagles’ Jack Graham copping a four-match ban for a homophobic slur against a GWS opponent. Both comments were made during play.
Contrast that with the AFL’s wet lettuce treatment of Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli who initially escaped any punishment before serving a week, partly self-imposed, for sending violent threats to an opponent, not in the heat of battle but after the game. The May decision wasn’t the worst we’ve seen from the AFL Tribunal; one could argue it was a 50/50 call.
It’s the lack of consistency that is maddening and the efforts to de-risk what is inherently a risky game. One thing is abundantly clear; the AFL’s decision making is being driven by their fear of concussion-related litigation.
Only problem is Aussie rules is supposed to be a contact sport.
Physical contact and resultant injuries, including concussions, are in some cases unavoidable. What happens when a player’s head is busted open during a marking contest? Is incidental contact with the marking player’s knee going to result in weeks on the sidelines?
If the AFL want to turn the game, at the highest level, into a quasi-non contact sport, then they should just say so.
Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas fears that’s precisely what is happening.
“I’ve given up on the game I was brought up on and played. That ship has definitely sailed,” he wrote on X.
“I hate this limbo period of AFL transitioning fans (hypnotising us with bullshit) to the eventual new game which will be a very long way from the game we loved.
“Just put us out of our misery and show us the non-contact version you’re striving towards and let’s get on with it.”
One can understand the AFL fearing lawsuits from former players but its response has been nothing short of simplistic.
Thomas argues the AFL is compromising the sport. “We are knee jerk reacting to players from yesteryear who have mental problems potentially resulting from their footy careers where the game was totally different and applying the same panic stricken attitude to today,” he wrote.
Players participating in a full contact sport at the highest level should be signing waivers preventing them from taking legal action for in-play injuries.
A player should not be able to take legal action in 20, 30 or 40 years when they opted to participate in a contact sport with full knowledge of the risks.
It may appear harsh but the alternative is to watch the game devolve further.
Originally published as Rita Panahi: If the AFL wants to turn the game into a quasi-non contact sport, then they should just say so
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