Talking points from round two of the 2019 AFL season

Eddie McGuire has received support from former Footy Show co-host Sam Newman after spending the weekend under fire for an insensitive insult.

Round two of the AFL season has thrown up controversy, scandal, injury and huge upsets.

The pre-season tips had teams such as the Brisbane Lions, Port Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda struggling for wins this season but all of those teams, along with Geelong, are 2-0.

Next Friday’s MCG match between Melbourne and Essendon will be a blockbuster for all the wrong reasons with both sides struggling to get going in 2019.

Here are the talking points from round two.

ACTION DEMANDED ON EDDIE ‘BRAIN FADE’

The opinions have been flying after Eddie McGuire’s stunning gaffe on Friday night.

On the Fox Footy broadcast as a commentator, McGuire flippantly bagged the coin toss.

“I think we should issue a $5000 fine for anybody who is tossing the coin and can’t do it properly,” McGuire said from the commentary box.

“Every week we have someone dropping it on their foot. Come on, toss it up properly for goodness sake. Practice in the week, you know you’re going to do it. It can’t be that hard can it guys, seriously.”

The tosser in this instance was Swans number one ticket holder Cynthia Banham, who is a scholar and former journalist and double amputee, who had both legs amputated after a 2007 plane crash that killed 21 others.

She was covering a tour by the Australian foreign minister when the plane crashed.

McGuire apologised at halftime when he was made aware but it sparked a huge outcry.

Eddie McGuire apologises at halftime for mocking double amputee Cynthia Banham's coin toss

The Swans released a statement on Friday night, which served to continue the outrage.

“The comments show not only a lack of empathy, but also ignorance,” it read.

“Cynthia Banham is a passionate Sydney Swans member, our number one ticket holder, and a courageous woman who is an inspiration to all of us at the club.”

McGuire apologised unreservedly on Friday night.

He later released a statement to say he is “devastated and apologetic” before standing down from Saturday’s coverage.

He is expected to return for round three.

McGuire is also expected to front for work on the Triple M morning show on Monday, but the Swans are demanding a sanction for one of the league’s most influential figures.

Former AFL Footy Show co-host Sam Newman told Seven News the comments were unlike McGuire.

“I’m telling you what I know of that man over most of my football life, he would not single someone out who is marginalised or has a difficulty if he knew or was aware of it,” Newman said.

But the knives have been out for McGuire, who has had a series of on-air gaffes over the years.

Sam Newman had something to say.

Speaking on the ABC’s Offsiders on Sunday morning, Melbourne-based Irish sports journalist Catherine Murphy echoed the sentiment that the AFL needs to do more, saying the real issue with McGuire’s latest comments is the lack of action taken against him in previous instances where he’s sparked outrage, meaning his behaviour hasn’t had to change.

Murphy pointed to the absence of any sanctions against McGuire for his Adam Goodes controversy, where the broadcaster said the Swans legend could be used to promote the King Kong musical just days after he was called an “ape” by a spectator during a match against Collingwood, in 2013.

“This comes back to a previous issue that just was not dealt with. That was the Adam Goodes comments, that were incredibly disrespectful,” Murphy said on ABC’s Offsiders.

“Not only was that not dealt with at the time, not only did Eddie McGuire not face sanction, less than a year later he was appointed as Chef de Mission for the AFL for the International Rules series (in Ireland).

“So no sanction, no repercussions whatsoever.

“In this case Eddie is sanctioning himself. Perhaps he knows he’s untouchable, knows he hasn’t been sanctioned in the past.

“This is a hangover from what should have been dealt with back then. It wasn’t dealt with and when people with a microphone can talk like that about Adam Goodes in a disrespectful way, then we expect people on social media to behave properly? We expect people in the stands to behave properly when we’re not seeing that leadership from the top and we’re not seeing sanctions?

“Why would they?”

Absolutely - well said 👏🏼@CathMurphySport
Only statement from @AFL simply echoed Eddie McGuire’s apology and remorse. A critical tweet from AFL’s head of content @MattPinkney (calling Eddie “an ignorant disgrace”) was deleted. Hard to tell what is going on in AFL https://t.co/1NPO1DpKMI

— MaryGearin (@MaryGearin) March 31, 2019

Even Federal social services minister Paul Fletcher weighed in and said the quotes weren’t intended to offend Banham.

“I’m absolutely confident there was no malice intended, I know that Eddie apologised immediately,” he said.

“Can I say, I think all Australians admire Cynthia Banham.

“And can I also say if this incident reminds all of us of some of the challenges that Australians with disability face, and increases awareness of those issues, I think that will be a good thing.”

Eddie McGuire has had a bad run.

Speaking on 3AW, AFL reporter Caroline Wilson said because McGuire has form with the gaffes, the AFL should take some action.

“We all understand brain fades and we all understand that people get in a mood and make stupid comments but it just seems hard to believe it could happen again from someone who has done this before,” she said.

“He is a club president so it is within their right to do something and they have done so in the past.

“I’m just thinking off the cuff here but surely at the very least, Eddie could be asked to make a donation to the charity that Cynthia is a spokeswoman for. I mean that could be one thing that the AFL could insist that Eddie do.”

MASON COX ‘MAY STRUGGLE’

Match review officer Michael Christian is under plenty of pressure from Thursday’s game after suspending Collingwood’s Mason Cox over a bump on Richmond’s Dylan Grimes.
According to AFL reporter Tom Browne who said Grimes was showing “head knock symptoms”.

Collingwood is set to challenge the Cox suspension. They’ll probably argue is wasn’t a block / bump, and suggest less than low impact, but the word is grimes has head knock symptoms. So the pies may struggle @7NewsMelbourne @triplemfooty

— Tom Browne (@TomBrowne7) March 31, 2019

Regardless, the call left pundits furious.

On Macquarie Sports Radio, David Schwarz slammed the Cox suspension.

“The Mason Cox one is just the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. It should be a $100 fine — if that. If you feel like the contact was that bad, $100 would be over top.

“It’s taken two weeks for Michael Christian, as I said, I don’t know if he drinks but these two must have been done after a big night on the Bundy.”

Mason Cox can accept a one-match ban for engaging in rough conduct, while Dylan Grimes can accept a one-match ban for striking.

Details: https://t.co/uwHoyfBXVz pic.twitter.com/VzhWiOoMfI

— AFL (@AFL) March 29, 2019

On Fox Footy former AFL stars Nick Riewoldt, Jason Dunstall and David King questioned the consistency of the decision.

“This’ll be the quickest case of all time … because it’ll be thrown out in a heartbeat,” King said.

“It’s not what we’re all about, this is part of the game. We see this 100 times a week.”

Riewoldt said it was a confusing call as it was basically a “basketball screen”.

“I’ve got to admit, I’m one of those people that are confused. And I really feel for the players in this situation,” Riewoldt said.

“Mason Cox, he’s come into that situation essentially, it’s a basketball screen.

“It’s not malicious, he’s taken the run away from Dylan Grimes, he hasn’t gone through with it, it’s not a bump.

Cox could be in trouble.

“He’s basically a victim of being really, really tall — because he’s copped him high, he’s got him in the head — and that’s part of a medical report that’s come back from Richmond.

“So when you stack it up against what we saw the week before against Liam Jones, which I think was a more malicious incident, that’s where the confusion reigns.”

Dunstall said it was setting a new precedent.

“I think the clearest thing to come out of this is that intent no longer matters,” Dunstall said.

“I mean, seriously, to have that get one week and the Dylan Grimes (hit) get one week when you can see contact of an elbow to the jaw, which could’ve easily broken the jaw and this is Liam Jones — that’s off the ball, when you’re not expecting it.”

BOMBERS HAVE NO FIRE: MATTHEWS

After an 0-2 start to the AFL season, Essendon coach John Worsfold has backed his side to dig in and turn around their dire form.

The Bombers were the big shocks of round one as the side favoured to challenge for the top eight were wiped off the park by GWS.

Former Saints star Nick Riewoldt was one of many commentators who slammed Essendon’s “disappointing” 72-point loss to GWS and questioned the club’s leadership.

“Just looking at the Bombers, their JLT form was terrible — particularly defensively — and they carried that into round one,” Riewoldt said.

“That was the really obvious part of the game yesterday to me. The desire to defend — or the mechanism and structure to defend — one of them or both of them were broken yesterday.”

Round two, the side lost by 11 to a Saints side many have tipped to struggle.

But coach Worsfold said the side can bounce back and get their season back on track.

“They’ve got a lot of character, this group, and I believe they’re going to take on the challenge of fighting through it,” Worsfold said after the match.

“They responded pretty well tonight off last week’s disappointment around the contest. (We have to) believe in what we’re trying to do and keep challenging ourselves to get better.”

This has not been the start the Bombers were looking for.

But AFL great Leigh Matthews questioned Essendon’s spirit after the loss.

The Bombers are in big trouble before Friday night’s MCG clash against Melbourne, who are also yet to win this season.

There were big wraps on Essendon, given their strong finish to last season and the recruitment of star midfielder Dylan Shiel.

Speaking on Channel 7’s Game Day, Matthews said Essendon paid the price for a bad patch in the first quarter.

“They didn’t have a big, visible fire in the belly,” Matthews said. “They’re not playing with any life and energy, that visible life and energy ... .are you chasing hard, tackling hard, are your bodies really going in ferociously for the football.

“The Bombers aren’t producing that at the moment.”

Essendon fans booed their team during Saturday’s loss as frustrations grow.

Teammates Kyle Langford and Matt Guelfi did not help the mood with an embarrassing interchange gaffe during the first term.

The two players went to the bench, rather than one of them staying on the ground and challenging for the ball.

Kevin Bartlett called it “absolute madness” and fellow commentator Kane Cornes said it was one of the most bizarre things he had seen in a game.

— with AAP

JACK WATTS — REDEMPTION TO REHAB

Port Adelaide’s Jack Watts could be pinching the title of the unluckiest player in the AFL.

The 28-year-old had the off-season from hell, admitting after last week’s win that he’d had days “where I didn’t want to get out of bed”.

Ouch.

Watts was streaming out of defence when Carlton veteran Dale Thomas chased him down and brought him down from behind and Watts’ ankle appeared to snap.

Watts suffered a broken leg and a dislocated ankle and had surgery on Sunday.

“It’s too early to be putting a specific timeline on his recovery at this stage,” Port’s head of medical services Tim O’Leary said in a statement.

It was a brutal game in terms of injuries with Port speedster Karl Amon injuring his knee and Carlton star Charlie Curnow suffering a knee problem as well.

Jack Watts was taken off the field on the stretcher after this tackle from Dale Thomas.#AFLPowerBlues pic.twitter.com/6PGtUa9CeK

— AFL (@AFL) March 30, 2019

Port coach Ken Hinkley said he believes Watts nightmare off-season will put him in good stead to get back on the field in the near future.

“You don’t get through what he has been through unless you are a resilient person. This is a different scenario for him but I am sure he is capable of handling that and bouncing back,” said Hinkley of Watts.

“He was OK emotionally because of what he has been through but understand it will be a challenge. He has worked so hard to get to a point where he was starting to build up some credits.”

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GIANT KILLING LIONS REJECT ‘F’ WORD

Brisbane’s AFL history over the past decade means coach Chris Fagan is only concerned about the next six days.

The emerging Lions kicked six of the last seven goals to beat North Melbourne by 20 points on Sunday at Marvel Stadium, with the 16.11 (107) to 13.9 (87) win following their round-one upset of West Coast.

Sunday was a game they likely would have dropped last season, when Brisbane were 1-7 in three-goal results.

Top start for the young Lions.

But Fagan said all he wants his team to think about is next Saturday’s game against Port Adelaide, who are also unbeaten, with finals talk intensifying after a second straight win to start the year.

It was put to Fagan post-game that Brisbane’s impressive start will spark talk about what they might achieve this season.

“How long has it been since the Lions have played finals? (2009) … a long time,” he replied.

“It’s natural enough that people might talk a little bit that way, because we’ve had a couple of victories.

“We have to cope with that and make sure our minds are on the next game and not get caught up in the bigger-picture things, because that’s a trap.”

That doesn’t mean Fagan was downplaying the significance of Sunday’s win.

It broke Brisbane’s five-game losing streak at the venue and also ended their run of six losses to North Melbourne.

“It’s always good for a young, developing team to get wins like that,” Fagan said.

— AAP