Changed the game: Blues’ secret September weapon Peter O’Farrell changing tribunal precedent
More comfortable in a navy blue suit than a navy blue guernsey, Carlton has a secret weapon who’s already changed the game. SAM LANDSBERGER writes Peter O’Farrell gives the Blues an edge at the tribunal – and how Carlton might pay him back.
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Carlton fans might not have heard of Peter O’Farrell – but the leading Melbourne barrister might be the Blues’ secret weapon this September.
He certainly has been in the past two seasons, and he again was on Tuesday night.
It was O’Farrell who set suspended defender Jordan Boyd free to take on Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night, and it was O’Farrell who allowed Jack Martin to play in last year’s preliminary final.
The Carlton lawyer also had bans against Adam Cerra, Harry McKay and Nic Newman thrown out at the tribunal last year.
And in 2022 it was Carlton’s lawyers who, unknowingly at the time, altered the history books of the game at the AFL Appeals board.
Captain Patrick Cripps had been suspended for two matches for rough conduct in an incident which left Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee concussed.
The tribunal threw out O’Farrell’s arguments as the ban was upheld.
But exploiting a technicality that the AFL swiftly moved to close at the end of the season, the Blues noted that Cripps should have been asked about a bump at the tribunal hearing.
In that hearing it was Christopher Townshend KC and Gayann Walker on the attack.
The two-match ban was thrown out primarily thanks to Townshend and Cripps went on to win the Brownlow Medal.
Forget Better Call Saul. For Carlton it’s Better Call O’Farrell and imagine if the likes of Cripps or Charlie Curnow find themselves involved in a football accident that incurs a suspension this September?
It will be over to the legal mastermind to return them to coach Michael Voss’ team.
Those who know O’Farrell – who could almost stunt double for Richard Gere – say he is super smart and super invested in his beloved Baggers.
Without O’Farrell’s shrewdness the 2022 Brownlow Medal would’ve gone to Lachie Neale in what would have made him a three-time winner – along with Hayden Bunton Sr, Dick Reynolds, Bob Skilton and Ian Stewart – after the Brisbane Lions’ win last year.
O’Farrell’s strike-rate at freeing Carlton players is unbelievable, particularly given the crackdown in recent years has seen so many clubs walk away disappointed from their tribunal hearings.
Last year O’Farrell submitted a signed letter from Neale as evidence that helped Newman escape a striking charge.
“Why would an AFL footballer intentionally strike Lachie Neale 20m from his goal?” O’Farrell argued in that case.
“Neale’s evidence was clear that he was hit to the chest with a hand. There’s no better evidence in terms of someone that was hit than from the person that was hit.
“You’ve got that from a Brownlow Medallist. A Brownlow Medallist that has got nothing to gain from being here tonight other than demonstrating his good character.”
On Tuesday night O’Farrell took aim at Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell, which the AFL claimed was “victim blaming”.
The argument might have upset some at Punt Rd. But do you think the Blues really care?
Last year O’Farrell took aim at Match Review Officer Michael Christian as he had Jack Martin’s two-match ban cut in half in September.
Along with citing eight other examples, O’Farrell called out Christian for his inconsistency in grading charges from week one of the finals after Melbourne’s Jacob van Rooyen received a one-match ban for a strike of similar impact.
Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson conceded it was a valid argument as it was of “some relevance” to Martin’s verdict.
Then, there was the hair defence. Yes, the hair defence. Adam Cerra was banned for one match for dumping long-haired Sydney ruckman Tom Hickey.
“The hair on this particular player is an unhelpful distraction and we ask you not to be distracted by it,” O’Farrell said.
Cerra was free to play.
O’Farrell might not be a household name in the football world … but it could be one day.
Peter’s son, Harry, is a 196cm intercepting defender on draft boards this year. One rival joked on Wednesday that Carlton probably owed the family to pick Harry up if nobody else did.
The teenager represented Vic Metro in the under-18 carnival last month.
When O’Farrell’s Moonee Ponds pad was put on the market last year the legal mastermind said he “metaphorically” celebrated tribunal victories on the stunning rooftop terrace with uninterrupted city views.
But Boyd’s win on Tuesday night – where the defender sat in suit and tie for the marathon behind O’Farrell in his city office – might have been celebrated closer to ground.
The five-bedroom property went under the hammer for $4.64 million last year.
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