AFL 2021: Jack Viney suspended for two weeks after being found guilty of serious misconduct
The tribunal has reached its decision in farcical circumstances after Demon Jack Viney was charged with dangerously thrusting his elbow into an opponent’s neck.
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Jack Viney’s tribunal case descended into farce on Tuesday night as the Melbourne ball winner pleaded guilty to serious misconduct without knowing the full wording of his charge and then asked to cancel that plea at the end of the hearing.
After two hours and 20 minutes spent locked in a remote hook-up on Webex, Viney was finally handed a two-match suspension for an action he argued he made in self defence.
Viney must sit out matches against West Coast and Adelaide, having already missed nine weeks with a foot injury this year.
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The marathon hearing outlasted the 123 minutes of game time between the Demons and Suns at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
When the hearing started Viney’s charge was particularised as “pressing and holding his elbow” to Gold Coast defender Sam Collins’ “neck and throat for a prolonged period with force”.
But Viney was adamant he did not make prolonged contact to Collins’ neck and throat region.
Viney pleaded guilty to serious misconduct – but not guilty to the particulars of the charge.
In bizarre scenes, tribunal chairman David Jones stood down the hearing as the phone hook-up went off line in the wake of the Demons claiming they had never seen the wording of the charge as they attempted to renege the guilty plea.
“It’s a question of where do we go from here? I think we need to stand the matter down for the moment,” Jones said.
Viney was called to give evidence and opened by saying: “I’d like to acknowledge and accept that this incident isn’t a great look for the sport”.
But Viney said he thrust his arm into Collins to stop the hulking defender rolling on top of him.
Viney said it was Collins who initiated their wrestle on the ground after Collins “wasn’t very happy” with Viney’s heavy tackle.
“I’ve made contact with the lower part of his jaw,” Viney said.
“As you can see my arm has landed across his jaw – but this was a position I was pulled into (by Collins).
“This was a man that was (14) kilograms heavier than me, a key-position player that I did not want rolling on top of me.
“He was pretty much telling me to hit him and I was saying, ‘Don’t try me’.
“There was dialogue between the both of us.”
Suns doctor Barry Rigby’s medical report showed Collins suffered no injury from the ugly exchange.
The Demons planted their defence around the outcomes of previous serious misconduct charges.
Jed Lamb (Carlton), Ben Stratton (Hawthorn) and James Sicily (Hawthorn) all received one-match bans for that charge while Charlie Dixon (Port Adelaide) was given a fine for misconduct.
Adrian Anderson, who was defending Viney, said Sicily stomping on Shaun Atley’s calf was a “premeditated action” which carried the risk of injury, unlike Viney who suddenly found himself engaged in a wrestle.
Stratton spent several minutes pinching Orazio Fantasia while Lamb eye gouged Jade Gresham.
The Demons also referenced Viney’s nine AFL seasons as a fair player.
Viney’s first 145 AFL games yielded a single one-match suspension, which was for an off-the-ball strike on Brad Ebert (Port Adelaide).
AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson rejected Viney’s self defence claims as he argued for a minimum of two weeks.
The AFL pushed for an even longer ban after Viney changed his plea because the player was no longer entitled to any leeway.
Ultimately, the jury of Shane Wakelin, Paul Williams and Wayne Henwood found that Viney was guilty as alleged by the AFL.
Dees finally get a hand to improve city base
Melbourne has secured State Government funding to upsize its training oval at Gosch’s Paddock as part of plans to develop a new home base in the city.
The Demons have been hampered in recent years by the small size of their oval, which chief executive Gary Pert recently dubbed a “junior-size football oval”.
But in a win for the club, talks with Government this year have helped secure the funds to increase the width and length to AFL-standard size.
The club is expected to make the announcement on Monday in a move which will allow the Demons to train more throughout the week in the city.
The Demons do the bulk of their main training at Casey Fields where the team can enjoy much better facilities, albeit 55km or one hour’s drive from the CBD.
The training oval upgrade is a step towards developing a new headquarters next to AAMI Park on top of the current car park, however the Demons have more work to do to secure the site for works.
Melbourne has among the worst facilities in the AFL and was unable to win approval to build a sparkling new facility on Yarra Park next to the MCG under former president Glen Bartlett.
But there are high hopes the car park development will work to help bring the club’s administration staff and football department under the same roof.
Match report: Blazing Dees still in the heavens after seven-hour flight
Melbourne overcame its cellar dweller doldrums and got its 2021 campaign back on track with a comprehensive 98-point spanking of the pathetic Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium.
Having lost to lowly Adelaide, Collingwood and being held to a draw by Hawthorn, the Demons did not make the same mistake against a team in the bottom half of the ladder by blowing the insipid Suns off the park.
After spending seven hours travelling to and from Queensland due to a late Covid-forced venue change, Melbourne came out with all guns blazing, racing to a 59-point lead by the main break with eight unanswered goals across the first and second terms.
And the embarrassing demolition continued after halftime with Melbourne kicking five goals in the third term when the woeful Suns went scoreless as the Demons enjoyed a 95-point buffer at the last change.
Melbourne had 44 more inside 50 entries than the Suns as they cruised to its 14th win of the year to stay in third spot on the ladder while the Suns slumped to loss No. 13 in arguably their worst performance of 2021.
Clayton Oliver was outstanding for the Demons with 35 disposals and a goal to reinforce why he is a leading contender for a host of individual awards in 2021.
And plenty of his teammates took the opportunity to fill their boots as Luke Jackson booted a career-high four goals, while Ben Brown added four of his own.
Christian Petracca was also prominent with 32 touches and a goal.
To call the Suns glorified traffic cones would almost be an insult to witches hats. They served up a steaming pile of uncompetitive rubbish. Gold Coast senior coach Stuart Dew said at halftime his team was “shell-shocked” but it was just shocking.
A week after conceding 13 goals to one in the second half of the QClash, they let in 12 goals by halftime against the Demons. There was no pressure, no tackling, no purpose, no intent, just nothing. Melbourne did as it pleased all afternoon.
The Demons led by 20 points at quarter-time but should have been further in front given their dominance of the fumbling and bumbling Suns.
The Gold Coast was guilty of turning the ball over in its defensive half of the field to gift Melbourne possession.
The Demons kicked the first three goals of the match but poor execution going forward, wayward shots at goal and a slight drop off in defensive pressure allowed the Suns to show signs of life with three of the next four majors.
Two goals to Jackson gave the Demons some bang for their buck from the opening term when they had double the amount of inside 50 entries and 25 more disposals than the Suns.
DEES HIT THEIR STRAPS IN ATTACK
Melbourne’s ability to hit the scoreboard had deserted it in the past four to six weeks but it was very much able to get its attacking mojo back against the horrible Suns, flying to the club’s highest score of the year.
The Demons had reached 80 points just once in the past six weeks but had that on the board by halftime.
It was just the second time in 15 years that Melbourne had kicked 80 points by halftime, the previous occasion was against the Gold Coast in 2018.
FADE OUT DOES SUNS NO FAVOURS
The writing was on the wall early for the Gold Coast. Some terrible kicks out of its defensive 50 put it under immediate pressure.
Things did not improve. If not for the hard work of Touk Miller, it could have got even uglier.
Questions will be raised about the Gold Coast’s lack of success and place in the competition. Until the Suns stop these shocking fade-outs in the second halves of seasons, the doubts will remain.
DREAM DEBUT FOR SMALL DEE
It was a dream debut for diminutive Demon Jake Bowey. He had 11 touches by halftime as he mopped up across halfback. He was running at 91 per cent disposal efficiency — much like fellow pocket rocket Caleb Daniel from the Western Bulldogs.
He almost had a Mark of the Year contender in the third term but spilt the Sherrin.
It was a different story for Suns debutant Joel Jeffrey who was thrust into the Gold Coast forward line who saw little ball all day.
FIXTURE ROAD TRIPS DON’T SUIT SUNS
Outside of the games played in Shanghai and Wellington, has four premiership points been as well travelled as those that were briefly up for grabs on Sunday.
This fixture was pushed back from Round 19 to Round 20 as part of the Covid shuffle.
It was originally set-down for the Gold Coast, then Darwin, then the Gold Coast again before landing at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
And after all that, the Suns did not bother to show up.
SCOREBOARD
DEMONS: 6.4 12.8 17.14 18.20 (128)
SUNS: 3.2 3.3 3.3 4.6 (30)
GOALS
Demons: Jackson 4, Brown 4, Fritsch 2, Gawn 2, Pickett 2, McDonald, Oliver, Spargo, Petracca
Suns: Burgess, Sexton, Corbett, Flanders
GREG DAVIS’ BEST
Demons: Oliver, Petracca, Harmes, Jackson, Brown, Viney, Gawn
Suns: Miller, Swallow, Anderson, Fiorini
INJURIES
Demons: McDonald (back)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
GREG DAVIS’ VOTES
3: Clayton Oliver
2: Christian Petracca
1: James Harmes
Fringe to freak: How late call-up Cat tore Roos apart
By James Bresnehan
It will go down as a 20-point loss and North’s 14th defeated of the season but it was a minor victory for Kangaroos coach David Noble that his onball crew made Geelong earn win number 15.
“We gave Curtis Taylor a bit more time in there and Will Phillips had more time and we put ‘Stevo’ (Jaidyn Stephenson) through there. Tto be able to play against Dangerfield, Selwood, Guthrie, those guys, it was really important to get that experience,” Noble said.
“It wasn’t a great spectacle. It was a tough encounter and both teams were trying to restrict some of the strengths of the other.
“It was great to move that young group through our midfield.”
North Melbourne’s first half was first class, and seven lead changes underlined how hard it fought.
“I was strongly encouraged with our performance and showing continued improvement,” Noble said.
“We are showing the depth in our list. We had nine guys under 22-years-old with the other three guys out.
“Geelong defended us really well. We kept hammering away at trying to move the ball and turned it over too many times.”
Hometown product Aaron Hall continued his love affair with Blundstone Arena, amassing a game-high 36 disposals and six marks with a stunning game off half-back.
Match report: Late inclusion keeps hungry Roos at bay
For a guy who wasn’t even in the team, defender Zach Guthrie was worth his weight in gold for Geelong in Hobart on Saturday in its labour-intensive Cat fight against the up-and-coming Kangaroos.
Geelong walked away with a 20-point win in an ugly, low-scoring contest in front of a Covid-restricted crowd of 10,000 to keep pace with the Western Bulldogs in the race for top spot on the ladder.
The lead changed seven times in the first half. Mark Blicavs put the Cats back in front halfway through the second quarter and Gary Rohan’s second goal gave them an eight-point lead at halftime.
North kept challenging and debutant Eddie Ford’s first goal in AFL footy midway through the last gave them hope. But in what will go down as a proverbial honourable loss, they could not bridge the gap.
“Our intensity and level of contest was really good in the first half but we had too many turnovers, especially by foot. That’s the one that hurt us most,” said North Melbourne coach David Noble.
Guthrie earned his horizontal stripes in Geelong’s backline.
He had six intercept marks and eight “catches” in total by halftime playing across half-back and 13 disposals.
His day’s work ended as Geelong’s second best possession winner, as well as 13 marks and a kicking efficiency of 82 per cent.
The 23-year-old, in only his 21st game, put up his hand to be one of the Cats’ back six with the finals only three games away and Geelong fighting hard for a home final.
Geelong battled for traction against North Melbourne’s defensive crew, making the return of Jeremy Cameron even more eagerly awaited to form a formidable mix with Tom Hawkins, Esava Ratugolea and Rohan.
Welcome home, Jake
Big Cat Jake Kolodjashnij finally got to play a game on home soil after eight years in the AFL system and his 111th game for Geelong.
The quiet achiever in defence, Kolodjashnij led a dour struggle in Geelong’s defensive unit that was tested in the opening term but ultimately put the hurt on North Melbourne’s hopes.
The Kangaroos kicked 18 goals a week earlier in their 39-point win over the Blues, but found the going tougher against the AFL’s most efficient defence.
The ‘Roos managed six goals against the Cats and big Jake ended the day with 15 possessions, seven marks.
Spin cycle
It was the house of pain onball for the Kangaroos without midfield machine Ben Cunnington and run-and-carry ace Tarryn Thomas.
With Cunnington missing after surgery to remove a testicular tumour and hometown lad Thomas out with concussion, it put the heat on Jy Simpkin to step up.
He did not disappoint. Simpkin continued his stellar season, the small Roo adding another 29 touches to his name to have amassed more possessions this season than All-Australian and Geelong opponent Guthrie.
The only Kanga better than Simpkin was local Aaron Hall with his game-high 34 possessions off half-back.
Sit down mask up
Other footy fans are locked down and even locked out of Tasmania, so locals lapped up the chance to see premiership contender Geelong take on the adopted hometown team.
The crowd was capped at 10,000, seated-only and masks compulsory for the first time at a Tasmanian AFL match.
But like the Hawthorn-Essendon contest in Launceston in Round 15, the Kangas-Cats match was a sellout and showed Tasmanians will turn out to see the big Victoria clubs.
SCOREBOARD
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.2 4.4 5.6 6.6 (42)
GEELONG 2.4 5.6 6.11 8.14 (62)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Larkey 2, Bosenavulagi, Davies-Uniacke, Ford, Taylor
Geelong: C.Guthrie 2, Rohan 2, Blicavs, Hawkins, Higgins, Narkle
BEST
Geelong: Z Guthrie, C Guthrie, Touhy, Bews, Higgins, Smith.
North Melbourne: Hall, Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, McDonald, Ziebell, Scott.
INJURIES
Geelong: Tom Atkins (back) replaced by Zach Guthrie.
North Melbourne: Uniacke-Davies (bruised right knee).
VENUE
10,000 sellout at Blundstone Arena, Hobart
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JAMES BRESNEHAN VOTES
3 Z Guthrie Geelong
2 A Hall NM
1 C Guthrie Geelong
Tight tussle at top has Scott nervous despite win
Geelong coach Chris Scott says don’t judge the Cats by their grinding 20-point win over North Melbourne in Hobart on Saturday and opened the door for Gryan Myers and Tom Atkins to play against GWS next weekend.
Atkins was a late out with a back complaint and Myers is still working against a “lower leg” injury.
It made Geelong recalibrate its plan for North Melbourne, which put the flag favourite to the test in its maiden match at Blundstone Arena.
“We have respect for what North Melbourne have done over the past month,” Scott said.
“They have been really dangerous and understand this ground really well.
“We had to spend a lot of time preparing for what was a different situation for us because most of our guys have never been here much less played at this ground.”
The race for the eight makes Scott nervous leading into their final three games against GWS, St Kilda and Melbourne.
Even the Kangaroos, in pole position to take the wooden spoon, posed a threat.
“It is so competitive at the top, I wouldn’t even limit it to six teams or eight teams,” Scott said.
“There are others that on their day can well and truly trouble teams right up at the top of the ladder.
“We are still in a position where we are fighting and scrapping to finish as high as we can. So in what was a difficult day, it was a scrappy match, I thought both teams showed great character to give their respective teams a chance in the game.”
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Originally published as AFL 2021: Jack Viney suspended for two weeks after being found guilty of serious misconduct
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