MRP chief Michael Christian explains why Robbie Gray was punished for high bump
THE AFL’s new match review panel chief Michael Christian explains why Robbie Gray was punished for his high bump and how the incident was different to Trent Cotchin’s collision in last year’s preliminary final.
Port Adelaide
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THE AFL has warned players it will look to protect their heads as much as ever in the wake of Robbie Gray’s one-match suspension.
The Port Adelaide superstar will miss the Power’s season opener against Fremantle at Adelaide Oval for his high bump on West Coast swingman Jeremy McGovern on Sunday.
The Power will decide this morning whether to appeal the ban, risking a $10,000 penalty in their football department cap if they are unsuccessful.
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Clubs who go over their football department cap will have to pay a 75 per cent tax, discouraging them from attempting frivolous tribunal appeals.
Regardless, Gray will still be eligible to win the Brownlow Medal because the misdemeanour occurred in the pre-season.
The gun ball winner was determined to play in Round 1 in his comeback from a testicular cancer scare in October last year.
The Gray ban was contentious because Richmond captain Trent Cothin was let off from making high contact to Greater Western Sydney midfielder Dylan Shiel in last year’s preliminary final.
But the AFL’s new match review panel chief Michael Christian said he did not consider the Cotchin case as a precedent.
Christian said Gray was charged because he chose to bump instead of making a genuine attempt to win the ball.
The bump finished McGovern’s match.
Christian warned players faced suspension for bumping rivals in the head under the new match review panel system.
“Bumping is a fantastic feature of our game, but when you elect to bump you must do it fairly,” Christian said.
“If you make contact to the head in a careless manner then that’s where there may well be a penalty forthcoming.”
The AFL is determined to protect players’ heads in the wake of unsettling new research around the dangers of concussion.
Christian said Gray could have gone in lower to pick up the ball rather than make high contact in a bump on McGovern.
“His eyes move from the ball to McGovern and if he was genuinely contesting the ball, I would like to see his hands down contesting the ball rather than shaping to bump,” he said.
“I think he had other alternatives other than shaping to bump and bumping. The option was there to genuinely contest the ball and he elected not to.”
Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver was also hit with a $1500 fine for striking North Melbourne tagger Ben Jacobs to the body on Saturday.
The fine is part of a tougher approach designed to help eliminate gut punches from the game.
Port Adelaide ruckman Paddy Ryder was also fined $2000 for striking West Coast’s Andrew Gaff.
Originally published as MRP chief Michael Christian explains why Robbie Gray was punished for high bump
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