Carlton’s Jack Silvagni says Zach Merrett was ‘unlucky’ to be suspended for striking
Essendon has accepted Zach Merrett’s one-match ban for striking Carlton’s Jack Silvagni, who has expressed his disappointment that the Bombers star was suspended.
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AFL players have been warned — commit a careless act at your peril.
But Bombers stat Zach Merrett didn’t deserve the ban he copped, according to the man he struck.
Match review officer Michael Christian - who this week hit Merrett with a one-match suspension for his swinging arm that saw Blue Jack Silvagni hospitalised with a fractured rib and bruised lung - maintained on Monday that while his system was conduct-based, any player who committed a careless act would run the gauntlet to be suspended if the incident was deemed to have a significant impact on the other player.
“If you commit a careless action, you run the risk if there is an associated impact with serving a suspension, potentially,” Christian said.
“If you carelessly strike someone, you’re running a pretty high risk.”
Silvagni, who is in doubt to play this week given the now-shortened turnaround for Carlton’s clash with St Kilda under the adjusted Round 5 fixture, said he had considered Merrett “unlucky” to be banned.
“Shame to see Zach get a week,” he tweeted.
“Incidents like that happen 20-30 times a game.
“He hit a sweet spot and outcome is just unlucky, no malicious intent whatsoever.”
The Bombers opted not to appeal Merrett’s ban at the tribunal on Tuesday night, meaning he will miss Friday night’s meeting with Collingwood.
Shame to see Zach get a week. Incidents like that happen 20-30 times a game. He hit a sweet spot and outcome is just unlucky, no malicious intent whatsoever.
— Jack Silvagni (@jacksilvagni) June 29, 2020
Christian said the action was “not at all” what he wants to see in the game but said the charge was anything but simple.
“They’re never simple. In this particular case, obviously Zach was pursuing Jack,” he said.
“You’re certainly allowed to put pressure on players to try and unbalance them, but in this particular case I believe that his action was a careless one, and the conduct was exactly that — a careless striking action.
“Once we determine the conduct is careless, then it’s a question of what the impact is and taking into account the various factors including the medical report, the player reaction in that he didn’t come back on the ground and also the visual look of the incident, we thought the most appropriate grading was high impact.”
And he rejected the suggestion that the system had simply become based upon outcome.
“We’re conduct-based, but there is an element and a weighting associated with impact in the guidelines,” he said.
“I’ll give you a good example. (Geelong defender) Tom Stewart came from the ground with a collarbone (injury) on Sunday.
“We assessed that incident, but we didn’t believe that the actions of Tom McDonald were reportable. So whilst there was an outcome, because the conduct wasn’t either careless or intentional, in our view, there is no charge even though there was a significant outcome and Tom Stewart could be missing for who knows how long.
“It is conduct first and once it is determined that it is a reportable offence, then it’s a question of impact.”
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CARLTON HOLD ON IN THRILLING FINISH
Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any weirder, Levi Casboult has emerged as the reliable spearhead Carlton has spent the past decade hoping he would become.
Casboult’s hands appeared laced with glue in last night’s epic one-point win against Essendon.
In the past two weeks Casboult has hauled in 18 marks and booted 5.0.
Incredibly, he has not kicked a behind this year. If it wasn’t for Casboult the Blues would be 0-4 and not 2-2.
Saturday night’s MCG thriller delivered the exact same result as the epic 1999 preliminary final between these clubs, and yet the games couldn’t have been more different.
Perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing this one was played in front of no spectators. The Bombers were locked in their houses only four days earlier and it showed.
Health authorities released Essendon from quarantine on Tuesday and it appeared Jake Stringer would bust the Bombers out of jail last night.
Stringer kicked goals either side of the final break and Essendon sprinted to a 12-point lead midway through the final term.
It didn’t seem fair.
Carlton dominated the entire third quarter yet didn’t kick a goal.
At the final change the Blues led disposals inside 50m 46-7 and had nothing to show for it.
But Casboult’s third major tied the scores in the final quarter and then with a minute remaining, speedster David Cuningham had a set-shot to ice the game.
Cuningham missed, the Bombers trailed by two points and should’ve had the ball at fullback.
Instead they had it halfway up the MCG after last week’s hero, Eddie Betts, gifted Adam Saad a 50m penalty.
You cannot miss the @wolfblasswines Last Two Minutes from #AFLDonsBlues.
— AFL (@AFL) June 27, 2020
Watch it here: https://t.co/0OXOTLpjw2 pic.twitter.com/H2g3UzIIiI
Baggers
— Bryce Gibbs (@BGibbsy4) June 27, 2020
Saad’s ugly entry somehow landed in the outstretched arms of a diving Jacob Townsend, who marked 45m out and directly in front of goal.
Townsend’s accurate kick looked set to break Carlton hearts until it was touched on the line.
It was an extraordinary finish to an ordinary game of football.
Bombers coach John Worsfold must’ve wished he could’ve handed Casboult a Bombers guernsey, and Saturday night’s loss showed that the return of Joe Daniher cannot come quickly enough.
Essendon refused to trade its spearhead last season and it’s not hard to see why. The Bombers’ forward line desperately needs a focal point like Daniher.
Someone who commands the ball and can help bring little men Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti to life.
‘Walla’ started the final quarter at the centre bounce still searching for his first kick, partly because the Bombers had been bombing the ball in and making life easy for Blues defenders Liam Jones and Jacob Weitering.
The Blues relied on their goalkickers to kick their goals while for Essendon its midfielders – Darcy Parish booted two in the first term – threatened most in the front half.
Shout out to Liam Jones' face for completing the spoil on the line 👃 #AFLDonsBlues pic.twitter.com/bl7jBlE50w
— Ricky Mangidis (@rickm18) June 27, 2020
“He said it was a new rule… and then he gave a 90m penalty!â€
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 27, 2020
Eddie Betts didn’t hold back 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/FxzzbO2TU9
‘HE GAVE A 90M PENALTY’: EDDIE’S RESPONSE TO LATE CONTROVERSY
The AFL has ticked off the contentious 50m penalty that nearly cost Carlton a famous victory over arch-rival Essendon.
Carlton cult hero Eddie Betts believed he had been penalised for high impact as he chased Adam Saad out of the goal square with only 51 seconds remaining and the Blues two points up at the MCG.
The 50m penalty seemed closer to 90m as the kick was taken close to the centre square.
But the AFL said on Sunday Betts had correctly been penalised for encroaching on the mark before Saad left the goal square.
That penalty is an automatic 50m penalty, with the umpire running backwards and pointing to a spot somewhere between the 50m arc and centre square.
But Carlton player Michael Gibbons kept running backwards to only two metres short of the centre square, where Saad then took the kick.
Essendon’s Jacob Townsend marked the ball and his kick was spoiled on the line by Carlton defender Liam Jones’ head.
Betts had been flabbergasted to be penalised post-match and said he almost couldn’t watch Townsend’s kick.
“You tell me. I got blocked twice before I even got there. I got hit twice.
“(The umpire said) ‘it’s a new rule’ – I’ve never heard of this new rule.
“He gave a 90m penalty, it wasn’t 50!” He took him to the centre of the square. It was like ‘how far are they running’?”
“Mate, I was like, I can’t watch Townsend kick. I had to turn away because if that went through … I would have given my own feedback,” he said.
‘IT CAME OFF MY FACE’: JONES’ FALCON SAVES BLUES
Carlton defender Liam Jones was nursing a sore nose last night, but he says it was worth it for the Blues to take home the four premiership points.
Jones was on the last line of defence when Essendon forward Jacob Townsend launched a long bomb late in an effort to win the game in the dying seconds of last night’s clash at the MCG.
“I was right on the line and I think it came off my face for a point,” Jones told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“I think big Pitto (Blues ruckman Marc Pittonet) hit into my face and it went over the line. I’ll take it, I put my nose there for the block.”
Carlton’s desperation on the line meant the Blues were able to hold on to win the game by a solitary point backing up from last week’s thrilling win over Geelong.
Jones said the Blues were learning to win the close games, something which has been a problem for the club in the past few seasons.
“It’s great to win those close ones because we want to go as far as we can in the season,” he said. “With the shorter quarters, there are going to be a lot of close games and the maturity of the group (last night) was really pleasing.
“We showed we learnt from last week, knowing we gave up a lot of goals in the last quarter (against Geelong), but we were able to hold on (against Essendon).
Jones, who has resurrected his career in recent seasons, said he had supreme confidence in the Blues’ defence now to support one another.
“We’ve all had a bit of time to play together now,” he said. “We have a good system … you never feel isolated. You never feel like you are one on one with your opponent. There is always a (Lachie) Plowman or a (Kade) Simpson running past, and we know (Sam) Docherty is never going to stop running.”
WOOSHA: COVID-19 LOCKDOWN A FACTOR
Essendon coach John Worsfold conceded that the three days his players spent locked in their homes contributed to last night’s sluggish one-point loss to Carlton.
The Bombers gave up a 12-point lead in the final quarter although recruit Jacob Townsend had the chance to steal the match with a set-shot in the final seconds.
Townsend’s kick was on target but touched on the line and Worsfold was optimistic that, despite being hopelessly outplayed all night, the Bombers nearly pinched a victory.
Star midfielder Zach Merrett could join injured captain Dyson Heppell on the sidelines for Friday night’s clash against premiership favourite Collingwood after striking Jack Silvagni with a clenched fist in the opening minute.
“I don’t know how you would possibly measure it, but obviously it’s not ideal to have your players locked away at home from Saturday afternoon through to Tuesday afternoon,” Worsfold said.
“I thought overall their attitude to come out of that and support Conor and James and still try to focus on preparing for the game was really good.
“Did they feel physically on top of the game or did they feel not quite right? Physically and mentally I don’t know – that’s how it effects it.
“We showed plenty of fight there’s no doubt in terms of giving ourselves a chance to win the game against a team that’s not too dissimilar to us in terms of where they’re at.”
Worsfold said Conor McKenna and James Stewart, who must stay in quarantine until Friday, were “feeling the pinch a bit more” in the lead-up to the match.
“They go through periods where they get a bit … I’m not sure what the word is, but it’s hard work being locked in a room for this amount of time,” Worsfold said.
“But it’s on the home stretch now for them.”
McKenna is likely to play his first AFL game for the season in Round 6 against the Western Bulldogs.
Carlton ruckman Marc Pittonet put in a commanding last quarter and 14 Blues won clearances. The Blues dominated inside 50s 49-34, clearances 38-23, disposals 333-267 and had six more scoring shots.
“Carlton won too much of the footy. They beat us for possession count, groundballs, clearances in the end,” Worsfold said.
“We held up pretty well early but really dominated clearances in the end and locked the ball in their front half for too long.
“Take all that into account and we had a shot for goal to win the game late, so there’s parts of what we were doing we were pretty happy with.”
SUCCESSIVE TIGHT WINS PROVE BLUES COMING OF AGE
Proud Carlton coach David Teague said the belief his playing group had garnered from successive tight victories over Essendon and Geelong would stand the Blues in good stead deep into the future.
The Blues had made a habit of our narrow losses, but the past fortnight has shown the system and coolness under pressure is getting results.
“You have got to win these games and you have to be in them, and probably for too long, we haven’t been in those games,” Teague said last night.
“It’s great that we are getting there. The boys reckon they are ageing me very quickly … it is really good, they stuck strong even when they got two goals behind.
“I think it is probably from the experience of playing in those close games.”
Last night was the third game the Blues had played this season with the margin under a goal, with a one-point loss coming against the Demons in Round 2, followed by a two-point win over Geelong last week.
The Blues appeared to have the game in their keeping when leading by a point and with the ball in David Cuningham’s hands about 40 metres out with less than a minute to play.
But Cuningham, playing arguably his best game for the club, hooked the ball through for a behind.
Then a 50m penalty from the kick-in took Essendon defender Adam Saad to the centre of the ground as the clock ticked down. A long ball into attack saw Jacob Townsend drag down a mark, but his kick was touched on the line, leaving the Blues in front by the barest of margins.
The Blues had to make do without Jack Silvagni after they lost him in the first term. He was taken to hospital with a potential bruised lung following an incident with Zach Merrett, which could draw match review attention.
Teague said the Blues – now sitting at 2-2 – hadn’t forecast deep into the future, but said he wasn’t putting a ceiling on what the club could achieve this year.
“We’ve (just) got to play our best footy,” he said. “We feel every time we get to a game, we can come out and compete, I am not going to put a number on our wins and losses. Our players are starting to believe in themselves.
He heaped praise on Blues key forwards Mitch McGovern and Levi Casboult, who kicked five goals between them, stressing how important they had been.
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QUIET CRIPPS
Perhaps St Kilda coach Brett Ratten should place a call to Essendon. Operation stop Patrick Cripps will headline Ratten’s week, and the Bombers seem to be the best at it.
Last year youngster Dylan Clarke tagged Cripps (11 disposals) and last night premiership player Stringer and Kyle Langford kept him to just only 20 disposals and three clearances.
In the first half Stringer seemed to be the man at stoppages – ensuring he was never socially distanced from Cripps – and then it was Langford around the ground.
Dylan Shiel (19 disposals) was able to slip Ed Curnow’s tag in the first half last night.
Jack Silvagni sat out of the rest of the first quarter after this incident early in the game. #AFLDonsBlues pic.twitter.com/i0JvikY3rn
— AFL (@AFL) June 27, 2020
CARLTON 3.0 5.3 5.8 7.10 (52) ESSENDON 2.1 4.1 6.2 8.3 (51)
Goals: Carlton: L Casboult 3 M McGovern 2 E Betts J Martin. Essendon: D Parish 2 J Stringer 2 A McDonald-Tipungwuti D Smith J Townsend S McKernan. Umpires: Matt Stevic, Leigh Fisher, Andrew Heffernan, Hayden Gavine.
BEST: ESSENDON: Ridley, Saad, McGrath, Shiel, Hurley, Merrett, Francis
CARLTON: Docherty, Casboult, Cuningham, Pittonet, Curnow, Gibbons, Walsh, Weitering, McGovern
VOTES
3. Sam Docherty (Carl)
2. Levi Casboult (Carl)
1. David Cuningham (Carl)
Originally published as Carlton’s Jack Silvagni says Zach Merrett was ‘unlucky’ to be suspended for striking