Broken – AFL Tribunal

If there is one thing that is clear from the decision to suspend Jack Higgins for three matches, it is that the AFL Tribunal and Match Review system is completely broken.

In the last few weeks we have seen similar actions go unpunished, with Toby Greene (who I believe was not rightly cited for his play on GWS youngster Leek Aleer) walking off without punishment and Tom Barrass suspended for two weeks for attack Michael Walters.

To add insult to injury, Charlie Cameron was allowed to have his charge for a dangerous tackle on Jake Lever downgraded on the grounds that he is a “good guy” due to character references.

Gory character references? I think Charlie’s a great guy and a great footballer as well, but he’s been quoted five times before that. Anyone else who uses the same tactic and fails in court is now rated as someone of lesser character than Charlie in the eyes of the decision makers.

Not great.

Given this series of confusing, and let’s be honest, ridiculous decisions, I have to conclude that Toby Greene is a great guy (until he got done for a bump in a scoring contest), Charlie Cameron is a badass guy , while Tom Barrass is a complete badass and Jack Higgins is the baddest guy in the game. The “good man” scale is sliding very quickly, isn’t it?

In all seriousness, however, the inconsistency at the MRO and the tribunal level is staggering. All the actions mentioned above are football actions. There were acts in play as players battled for footy in a contested ball situation. And it should be noted that Aliir contributed greatly to the momentum of his downfall by throwing himself off balance in an attempt to kick while being tackled.

At the other end of the spectrum, we had Jesse Hogan land one on the chin of Carlton defender Lewis Young and walk away without a suspension. Sure, it was a glancing hit, but it was a punch to the head (it’s sacrosanct…remember that?) that was 100 meters from play, and the AFL ticked it off as fine.

So to assess exactly why we have such wild swings in sentencing, we probably need to take a look at the court itself.

Here are the current jury members of the court. Are you ready for this?

Jordan Bannister – former Carlton/Essendon player and AFL umpire

Michelle Dench – former VWFL player and 10x All-Australian in the National Championships

Darren Gaspar – former Richmond and Sydney player

Wayne Henwood – former Sydney player. Also known as Elan

Jason Johnson – former Essendon player

Stephen Jurica – ex-Richmond player

Richard Loveridge – former Hawthorn player

Stewart Loewe – former St Kilda player. Also known as “Buckets” due to the lack of plumbing at his home.

Shannon McFerran – current VFLW player. Maybe she was the singer for ‘Don’t worry be happy’

David Neitz – former Melbourne player

Talia Radan – former Adelaide, Melbourne and West Coast AFLW player

Scott Stevens – former Sydney and Adelaide player

Shane Wakelin – former Collingwood, St Kilda and Port Adelaide player

Paul Williams – former Collingwood and Sydney player

There you go – just the 14 members. Add to that, there are the two presidents of the tribunal, Jeffrey Gleeson and Renee Enbom. Both are barristers of the Kings Council.

Names sourced from AFL website

So there is a group of 16 people trying to be on the same page to get the results they want for the AFL. I don’t know about you, but I can’t even get my kids to agree on what they want for dinner, much less get 16 people to agree on a range of crimes in a football game.

In any case, two members of the tribunal and one of the presidents sit and deliberate on the evidence provided and the statements made by the players. What comes out of it may well depend on the committee members attending any given hearing.

Now do you see why there is no consistency?

Now, it must be understood that when the AFL wants the tribunal to sit, some of the members may now be available – they all have lives and jobs of course. But 16 of them?

Jack Higgins is at home for the next three weeks as his Saints desperately try to turn around a season that has spiraled in recent weeks. He does so because the AFL has once again thrown the dog on the dog not only for the decision to suspend Higgins, but for previous decisions not to suspend others for what was essentially the same offence.

As someone who runs a site like this, I read a lot of social media posts and responses. One I’ve heard from a few people is that Higgins should have “given up” on Aliir.

Yeah…let him go. Let him get away with his shot. Let him have a mood. Let him out of the game. This completely flies in the face of the game material.

Is that what the league wants? More importantly, is that what you, the ones putting money into the league’s coffers, want? Without sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud again, we are headed down a dangerous path. 15 years ago if you showed the players Higgins’ tackle on Aliir and told them he got a three match ban for it they would have laughed at you. What will the game look like in 15 years?

There are incidents in the league that are clear. You only have to look at Jimmy Webster’s hit on Jy Simpkin in the preseason as an example of what the league should be cracking down on. Other actions – foot actions – such as those of Higgins, Greene, Cameron and Barrass must be viewed with a degree of common sense.

And that could mean getting rid of lawyers in the court system. It might mean not showing the incident in super slow-motion, as it gives the impression that a player has much more time to make a decision than they actually did. And it could mean getting a regular pool of ex-players – a small group who can commit to being available to attend the tribunal regularly to ensure the sentences handed down are consistent.

Supporters are frustrated. Players are frustrated. Coaches and clubs are frustrated. Not a great sign.

And if you ignore that frustration, the AFL will deserve what it gets.

Jack Higgins should appeal this travesty of a decision and those responsible should be ashamed of themselves.

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