By Jon Pierik and Andrew Wu
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- Western Bulldogs star Ed Richards has been given the all clear for a high fend that left North Melbourne’s Luke Davies-Uniacke concussed.
- North Melbourne say they are comfortable with how they handled Tristan Xerri’s head knock against the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night, declaring it’s now up to the AFL to determine if the process followed full protocols.
- AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says clubs were given multiple warnings about players making umpire contact, but concedes it is highly unlikely a player will be suspended.
- Texts with Joe Daniher while he holidays in Portugal and Spain have left Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan in no doubt the mercurial forward will never “play footy again”.
Police charges against former AFL umpire Troy Pannell released
Jon Pierik
Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell faces six charges, including stealing a car and twice failing to stop for police, as part of a criminal case before the Heidelberg Magistrates Court.
In court: Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell faces six charges as part of a criminal case - separate to a case involving alleged embezzlement.Credit: Photographic
Pannell, 48, appeared via video link in court on Tuesday, having been arrested for alleged theft and driving offences.
The official charge sheets were publicly released on Friday. He is alleged to have stolen a white Hyundai Tucson valued at $45,000 and an Apple iPhone13 and Microsoft laptop on May 12. The car and the two items are suspected of being the proceeds of crime.
It is also alleged he failed to stop for police in the Murray River town of Cobram on May 30, and again in the rural western Victoria town of Wheatsheaf on June 6.
These charges are unrelated to his $8.7 million fraud saga before the Victorian Supreme Court.
Pannell was involved in an accident on the Daylesford and Malmsbury Road near Wheatsheaf on June 8. His van ran off the road and hit a tree after he had failed to stop for Victoria Police, who were trying to enforce a warrant for his arrest for contempt of court. No other vehicle was involved in the crash.
He cut a forlorn figure through the 15-minute hearing in the Heidelberg Magistrates Court before magistrate Denise Livingstone.
Lawyer Astrid Haban-Beer, representing Pannell, said her client had been in psychiatric care. She said he is suffering from anxiety and depression and has been unable to contact family.
A plea hearing for the theft and driving offences will be heard on July 16.
In a separate matter, Pannell will appear in the Victorian Supreme Court on July 18, having been held on bench warrant for contempt after failing to appear before Justice Andrew Watson in a civil claim over embezzlement allegations in an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud.
It is alleged by his former employer, SeaRoad Shipping, that he defrauded the company of more than $8.7 million.
Pannell officiated 291 AFL games from 2005 to 2018 – including a controversial 2016 match in which he awarded 17 free kicks to the eventual flag-winning Bulldogs and only one to Adelaide during a home-and-away game.
Clubs were warned about umpire contact: Dillon
Jon Pierik and Andrew Wu
The AFL’s crackdown on players making umpire contact came amid concerns clubs were using the whistle-blowers as screens to break tags at stoppage.
Two industry sources with knowledge of the matter have told this masthead the league is aware of tactics deployed by some clubs to capitalise on the movement of umpires at centre bounces and stoppages around the ground.
We told you: Andrew Dillon says clubs were repeatedly warned that player contact with umpires was too high.Credit: AFL Photos
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said on Friday that clubs were given multiple warnings about players making umpire contact, but conceded it is highly unlikely a player will be suspended.
Rucks at some clubs are being instructed to tap the ball in the direction of the umpires, who are inadvertently getting between players while they back away after bouncing or throwing the ball up.
The league has laid 63 charges for careless contact with an umpire this season, up from 20 in 2023 and 56 last year.
St Kilda players have been fined eight times, while players from Carlton, Essendon, Geelong, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Port Adelaide and West Coast have been penalised five times each.
The league this week announced that players hit with a fourth or subsequent careless umpire contact charge within the past two years will likely be sent straight to the tribunal and face a ban, after fining players had failed to cut the number of such incidents.
Suns midfielder Matt Rowell, St Kilda pair Hunter Clark and Jackson Macrae and Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett all face possible suspensions if they make careless contact with an umpire once more this season.
This prompted Suns coach Damien Hardwick to take aim at the league for the in-season rule change.
However, Dillon said on Friday the time had come for the league to take a stand, having warned clubs several times that umpire contact was on the rise.
“We are concerned about the number of umpire contacts that are happening,” Dillon told SEN.
“Back in 2022 we had six for the year, it was low 20s in 2023, up to 50 last year, and then we’ve already had 60 this year.
“We wrote to the clubs at the start of the year, warning that this was on the radar.
“Again we wrote to the clubs in April and reminded the clubs to remind the players that there is the potential if there are multiple infractions for the same offence, which has got a fixed financial sanction, that there is the ability to refer that to the tribunal. So we reminded the clubs and the players that that actually exists.
“We had a president’s meeting in June where I raised that again. We had a lot of talk about umpires, and that was another thing that we raised there – the increased number. By that stage, the number of careless contacts had already gone above what it was last year.”
Hardwick, a three-time premiership coach from his time at Richmond, was furious on Thursday, even warning the league there could be repercussions if Rowell was cited again.
“If it leads to a suspension, look out from our point of view,” Hardwick said.
“I know we’re the Gold Coast Suns, and don’t get me wrong, Matt Rowell is a superstar, but if this was spoken about with Nick Daicos, Collingwood would tear the place down.
“Let’s sit there and understand what we’re talking about here. We can make a change about umpire adjudication, but we’ve been calling out for change to the tribunal for a period of time. Why can we, with the swipe of a pen, change one but not the other?”
Dillon suggested it would have to be a major careless act for a player, already with multiple offences, to be suspended.
“I won’t go into hypotheticals, but if it was a careless contact for clipping heels, that would be a fine, but if it’s someone who’s had multiple [offences], it might be referred to the tribunal and the fine might be increased,” he replied.
“I think it’s very unlikely [a suspension].”
Better be careful: Kysaiah Pickett has been repeatedly fined for umpire contact.Credit: AFL Photos
Regarding Hardwick’s comments, and whether there had been an over-reaction to the change, Dillon said the health and safety of umpires was just as important as it was for players.
Bulldog Richards avoids ban for high fend
Andrew Wu
Western Bulldogs star Ed Richards has avoided suspension for a high fend that left North Melbourne midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke concussed.
Richards is the fifth player since round nine to be given the all clear by match review officer Michael Christian for an incident that resulted in an opponent suffering concussion.
The star Bulldog made high contact with Davies-Uniacke with his right forearm as he attempted to break the Kangaroo’s tackle.
The instinctive nature of Richards’ reaction, the fact he did not fully raise his arm, and Davies-Uniacke’s low head position in applying the tackle were all factors that would likely have come into the Bulldog’s favour.
Richards remains in the hunt for the Brownlow Medal, for which he is considered a top-six chance.
The finding comes a week after Gold Coast’s Brayden Fiorini escaped sanction for a collision with Melbourne’s Harrison Petty while contesting a ground ball. Though Petty was concussed, the MRO found Fiorini “genuinely contests the ball and it was reasonable for him to contest in that way”.
Gold Coast forward Ben King, Hawthorn midfielder Conor Nash and North Melbourne veteran Luke McDonald have also been cleared after making head-high impact.
Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos said after McDonald’s clash with Berry – where the Kangaroo did not see Berry coming – not all incidents that result in concussion warrant suspension.
“I hope it leads itself to a greater discussion at the end of thee year to say, ‘Malicious acts, we want to stamp out completely, but we need to look at the game and what it presents in terms of decisions for players’,” Roos told the ABC in May.
“The way they run around with speed now and in zones, running through, I think it’s a great point. I hope it’s a reminder for the AFL that we do have accidents in the game.”
Xerri cleared of concussion, AFL to investigate
Jon Pierik
North Melbourne say they are comfortable with how they handled Tristan Xerri’s head knock against the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night, declaring it’s now up to the AFL to determine if the process followed full protocols.
Heat of the battle: Kangaroos ruckman Tristan Xerri had two head knocks against the Western Bulldogs.Credit: Getty Images
Xerri took a glancing blow to his head from Sam Darcy at a stoppage with 19 minutes remaining in a 49-point loss at Marvel Stadium, and fell to the turf.
However, he played on for another 10 minutes before leaving the field, despite initially having his hand on his forehead when laying on the turf, and appearing dazed.
A Kangaroos spokeswoman said on Friday that Xerri was not concussed, but “he will be monitored closely over the next 24 hours”.
“We’re comfortable with our processes and how we handled Luke Davies-Uniacke and Xerri, and it’s now with the AFL,” the spokeswoman said.
The AFL was contacted for comment.
Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson refused to be drawn into the incident in his post-match press conference.
“I didn’t see anything. There’s probably two things that I’m not an expert on and that’s umpiring and concussion, so I probably won’t make mention of either one of them,” he said.
The field umpires opted to not stop play and have Xerri taken from the field to be assessed, as league protocols allow.
The Kangaroos’ medical staff immediately checked on him after the incident, but it appeared only a brief chat. Club medical staff were shown still monitoring the incident after the final siren.
“The AFL should look into the management of it,” Seven commentator Kane Cornes said after the match.
The need to stop play to allow players to leave the field and be tested for concussion was reinforced during the Lachie Schultz controversy earlier this season.
The AFL also has a spotter in its ARC who can call for a player to be tested.
Xerri was even checked by Bulldogs opponents Tim English and Tom Liberatore after the incident – Liberatore later revealing there was a new code among players to check on each other.
He said he was grateful for opponents Darcy Parish and Conor Nash checking on him during games last year when he had been hit and concussed.
Xerri had also been involved in an incident in the third term when he tackled Liberatore and crashed to the turf. Club medicos reviewed footage of that at the time, but he played on. Club medicos were also in discussions with him at the final change.
‘That will never happen’: Daniher comeback laughed off
AAP
Texts with Joe Daniher while he holidays in Portugal and Spain have left Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan in no doubt the mercurial forward will never “play footy again”.
Fagan laughed off the prospect of a comeback from the notoriously private premiership star on Friday after the 31-year-old had been linked with Sydney.
“I’m nearly 100 per cent sure, 99.99 per cent sure,” Fagan said ahead of the Lions’ Gabba clash with Port Adelaide on Saturday.
Daniher was brilliant in the Lions’ run to the flag last season and then, with an eye to business interests outside of football, retired with a year still to run on his contract.
“Joe is enjoying life at the moment and the other thing I’d be confident with is if he did, he would play with us,” Fagan said.
“I’ve been texting him a little bit while he’s been in Portugal and Spain, enjoying life, so I don’t think he’d be in great nick right now.
“I’d be very, very surprised if Joey ever plays footy again.”
A refreshed Fagan was in good nick himself after the side’s bye, the Lions (10-4-1) sitting second after a drought-breaking win in Geelong a fortnight ago.
They’ve lost just two games away from the Gabba since last season’s mid-year bye – both by less than a goal – when Fagan told the team “if you’re on thin ice, you may as well dance”.
That message helped propel them from 13th to the flag and the coach has gone back to the well as they plot a rare title defence.
“We’ve got one, but I’m not going to tell you what it is,” he said of his latest catchphrase.
“I don’t want the world to know ... I might let you know if it works, down the track.”
The theme centres on the side’s Gabba form though, the Lions’ 4-3 season record at odds with years of home-ground dominance.
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