AFL tribunal: Melbourne has succesfully overturned Bayley Fritsch’s one-game striking suspension
Bailey Fritsch has had his one-game ban for striking North’s Tom Powell overturned. But while the young Roo has been cleared of concussion, the concern is now for his kidney.
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Sam Weideman’s stunning VFL form could go unrewarded yet again after Melbourne’s leading goalkicker Bayley Fritsch overturned his one-match ban at the tribunal on Tuesday night.
The Demons have lost Adam Tomlinson (knee) for the season, but they will not have to replace both bookends against Sydney at the MCG on Saturday night.
Weideman, who is out of contract, has booted 14.6 in three VFL games, however coach Simon Goodwin went with Ben Brown last week in the club’s first restructure of its undefeated start to the season.
Tomlinson is likely to be replaced by Harrison Petty against the Swans, while midfielder James Harmes is ready to play his first game since Round 1.
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The Dees accepted that Fritsch’s elbow to North Melbourne’s Tom Powell was high contact and medium impact.
But former AFL football boss Adrian Anderson, who represented Fritsch, argued that the charge should be dismissed because Fritsch’s conduct was not careless, as graded by match review officer Michael Christian.
The Demons said that contact was unavoidable because Christian Petracca pushed Powell in the back and Powell then lifted Fritsch’s elbow.
They cited Hawthorn’s Tim O’Brien collecting Port Adelaide’s Tom Jonas in the head, after O’Brien was pushed towards Jonas in a marking contest, as precedent for a not guilty outcome.
Jumpy vision and tribunal chairman Ross Howie disconnecting from the call during Anderson’s closing argument underpinned the new world of virtual hearings.
There was microscopic blood detected in Powell’s urine sample after the match and he underwent a kidney scan on Monday, according to Kangaroos doctor Bianca Scotney’s medical report.
But Powell was cleared of concussion and suffered no ongoing headaches or jaw pain, with the kidney problem highlighting that more damage was done from Fritsch’s contact to the teenager’s midriff, rather than the elbow to his head.
Dr Scotney said kidney trauma was “unlikely” and Powell was a strong chance to play against Collingwood in Round 8.
Anderson said Fritsch’s height – he is 5cm taller than Powell – and the fact no Kangaroos players remonstrated should also be considered.
Fritsch – the electric forward Melbourne drafted with the selection received for Jack Watts – bagged six mostly mercurial goals against the Roos.
AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson agreed that Petracca’s push inflamed the incident.
But Gleeson said in a “fast game with rapidly moving parts” the onus was on Fritsch to keep his elbows down.
Gleeson showed clips of Tom Bellchambers striking Dayne Zorko as he was dragged down in a tackle in 2019 and Josh Caddy collecting David Mackay as he attempted to block a handball as examples of careless conduct.
However after a 35-minute deliberation the jury finally delivered a non-guilty verdict.
"The bloke on the left (Dangerfield) got off, the bloke on the right (Fritsch) got a week."
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) May 3, 2021
Should Melbourne use the case of Patrick Dangerfield in the Grand Final to free Bayley Fritsch from his suspension? #COUCHpic.twitter.com/IihAqNKBda
"There looks to be a week there."
— 7AFL (@7AFL) May 2, 2021
Bailey Fritsch in trouble? pic.twitter.com/BcRopON4cm
How Dees will reshuffle in defence
Melbourne has also lost the man who allows Jake Lever to play like Alex Rance for the season, with scans confirming Adam Tomlinson has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The combination of Tomlinson and Steven May was proving effective – Fremantle’s Matthew Taberner was the only key forward to manage three goals against the Dees in the first seven rounds.
May is set to take on returning superstar Buddy Franklin this week.
But coach Simon Goodwin will not redeploy Lever into the Tomlinson role and is instead set to recall Harrison Petty, ensuring Lever remains free to excel as the AFL’s No. 1 intercept player.
Lever’s averages of 4.7 intercept marks and 10.9 intercept possessions per game lead the competition, with Liam Jones (Carlton) and Harris Andrews (Brisbane) also near the top.
Ironically, the Demons drafted Petty at No. 37 in 2017 – a selection received from Adelaide along with Lever in the same trade.
Petty, 21, re-signed until 2022 at the end of last season, despite missing 2020 with a groin injury.
Petty conceded six goals from five AFL games playing as a defender in 2019. He also played five games forward that season.
The 197cm swingman hails from the tiny South Australian town of Wudinna, which has a population of 600.
Tomlinson, 27, was recruited as a free agent on a five-year contract to play on the wing.
But he was highly-rated by former opponent and St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt for his running power and had blossomed on return as a lockdown defender this year.
The Demons delisted Oscar McDonald last year and found that Tomlinson was a safe option as a replacement in that part of the ground.
Oscar’s older brother, Tom, will also be considered to replace Tomlinson in some games, however Petty should get first crack, particularly if Fritsch is banned for the Swans game.
McDonald’s clean marking and, against Richmond, accurate goalkicking has seen his stocks soar only months after being put up for trade.
Last week’s addition of Ben Brown could ultimately see McDonald squeezed out of the forward line, although the Demons have also flagged the idea of playing him on the wing.
Midfielder James Harmes demanded AFL selection with 28 disposals, nine clearances, two goals and 162 SuperCoach points on his VFL return.
Sam Weideman might be the unluckiest player in the land, having kicked 14.6 in three VFL games without a call-up.
Jack Viney was a late withdrawal against North after the discovery of a hotspot in his toe. But the onballer should be fit for the Friday night blockbuster against Western Bulldogs in Round 11.
Dees’ hot streak continues but at huge cost
– James Bresnehan
Simon Goodwin has a message to Melbourne’s loyal, long-suffering supporters after downing North Melbourne in Hobart and moving to the top of the AFL ladder with its 7-0 start to the season — it’s time to believe.
Bruised hopes over decades have many Demon fans reluctant to buy into the 2021 success, and the first half against the rampaging Kangaroos had some fearing, ‘Here we go again’.
Melbourne found another gear in the second half and the Kangas became road kill as the Dees posted their first win in Hobart.
“It’s a very ruthless game so to be sitting where we are, we are happy,” Goodwin said.
“Each week the players have been terrific. They have been able to reset.
“It’s really exciting for our supporters – I’m really happy for them.
“To see the smiles on their faces over the first seven weeks has been amazing for us as coaches and players.
“We love their support and getting in behind a team and every time we step out on the field we will be doing our best for them.”
If the Dees go all the way, they will likely do it without injured defender Adam Tomlinson, who wrecked his knee in the opening minutes.
“He’s shattered,” Goodwin said.
“He has put in a lot of work to put himself into the position he has. It’s looking like an ACL, we will get the scans done to confirm that but it’s really disappointing for him.”
Six of the best by forward Bayley Fritsch was the difference in the 30-point win.
“He hit the scoreboard really well but we gave him a role on Jack Ziebell in the second half and his ability to do that was a big part in executing for the team,” Goodwin said.
“North Melbourne’s leaders were pivotal early and our ability to deal with Ziebell and Cunnington in the second half was a big turnaround in the game.”
North Melbourne stunned the AFL’s ladder leader with a scintillating first half and gave Melbourne’s long-suffering fans a massive fright.
The Kangaroos confirmed their best football can compete with the best, and their run and pressure had Melbourne, the AFL’s No. 1 pressure team, well off its best.
North kicked the first two goals inside three minutes through Tom Campbell and Shaun Atley.
The Dees responded with two to Fritsch and another to Luke Jackson to take the lead, albeit only until Campbell kicked his second and Tom Powell another to give them an unlikely lead at the first break.
Ben Cunnington and Kane Turner generated energy around the ball for North and when it went into enemy territory McKay, Josh Walker, Ben McKay and Aaron Hall sent it packing more often than not.
The second quarter was more of the same.
When hometown hero turned foe Ben Brown kicked his first goal for the Dees — a toe-poke on the line rather than his trademark clunk and set shot — Melbourne moved to within a point.
But the Kangaroos hit the afterburners with four unanswered goals that had them 19 points up at the half with Ben Cunnington (22 disposals) and Hall (21 disposals) leading the assault.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin was perplexed by Melbourne’s lack of intent but that was fixed in the changerooms at the long break.
The Dees picked up where they left off against Richmond and gradually took control.
With three more goals to Fritsch and Christian Petracca lifting those around him in the midfield, Melbourne piled on 6.3 to 1.1 in the third go into the last 13 points head.
Cunnington fired North Melbourne’s final shot with a goal eight minutes into the last and then four in a row at the other end put the issue to bed.
With his head heavily bandaged, Brown was pleased with his debut.
“It was great to get my first game out of the way and get the win,” Brown said.
“Our first half wasn’t very good but in the second half we were much better and we will be able to go into next week with more confidence.”
CASUALTY WARD
Hobart was an injury minefield for Melbourne. Apart from losing vice-captain Jack Viney with a toe injury on his left foot shortly before the start of the game, it took just minutes into the match to lose Adam Tomlinson, possibly for the season.
The Dees defender appears to have hurt his ACL and players around him are said to have heard it “pop”. He was helped off and straight down the race for tests. He emerged just before quarter-time, visibly distressed and being consoled by those on the bench.
He was replaced by injury sub Nathan Jones.
Ben Brown wandered off bleeding after a head-clash in the fourth quarter and Angus Brayshaw ended the game with his right shoulder heavily strapped.
The Kangaroos, meanwhile, lost Aiden Bonar to a corked calf and impressive teenager Tom Powell was helped off just before halftime after a high fend-off from Fritsch.
But he passed a concussion test and returned to the action in the second half.
BROWN HOMECOMING
The dominance of Bayley Fritsch with a six-goal haul overshadowed the debut of prized recruit Ben Brown.
Big Ben kicked 2.1 in his first appearance in red and blue, which made him the Dees’ third-best forward, with Kysaiah Pickett booting 3.2 in another scintillating performance.
Brown’s day ended with a cut head and stitches in the changerooms in the fourth quarter while his teammates took care of business.
Going forward Melbourne must decide if it can play Brown, Tom McDonald — who moved to the back half after Tomlinson’s injury — Sam Weideman and Fritsch all in attack.
HALL MONITOR
Aaron Hall had his best game for the Kangaroos since leaving the Gold Coast Suns at the end of 2018.
The 30-year-old was a dominant force across halfback. He had 21 possessions to halftime, 18 kicks, nine marks and three inside-50s.
Sporting cornrowed hair, it was Hall’s first game on home soil in two years, and his Shaun Burgoyne-style run and stun out of defence will make him a key part of North Melbourne’s recovery if he can maintain the rage as the season rolls on.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
James Bresnehan’s votes
3. Bayley Fritsch
2. Ben Cunnington
1. Christian Salem
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