Daniel Kerr shouldn't be playing round one

Things haven’t gone so smoothly for Daniel Kerr over the past few years. Since fellow star midfielders Chris Judd and Ben Cousins vacated West Coast at the end of 2007, his stardom status has suffered a major decrescendo.

Kerr’s had to cope with relentless taggers on a weekly basis, which has significantly reduced his impact on the field. He’s gone from averaging 27 disposals a game in 2007 to just 19 in 2010, and there’s little doubt his form has played a significant part in his team’s dramatic downfall over the past three seasons.

The onballer has also struggled to get himself on the park. He’s played just 26 of the past 66 games for the Eagles due to nagging injuries and questionable suspensions. In that sense, he’s perhaps been a tad unlucky.

Fortune finally favoured Kerr on the weekend. However, on this occasion, his run of bad luck should’ve continued.

Kerr lined up for East Fremantle in a WAFL practice game against Claremont on Saturday. It was his first competitive footy match since tearing his hamstring off the bone in round four of the AFL last season. His return was big news, drawing a couple of television cameras to the ground to capture his every movement throughout the match.

Did Kerr know about the cameras? If he didn’t, he made a massive mistake.

After being tackled to the ground, Kerr blatantly elbowed a vulnerable Luke Blackwell in the head. Looking at the footage, the former Carlton player is clearly stunned by the hit and flinches as Kerr’s elbow makes contact. His head snaps back due to the impact and forceful nature of the hit.

It was shameful – almost hard to look at. If the incident occurred in an official AFL match, the uproar would’ve been massive. Kerr would’ve definitely been suspended – some say for at least three weeks. You even heard a supporter scream out ‘you’re gone Kerr’ from the sidelines.

Amazingly though, he wasn’t even sited for the incident and is now eligible for AFL selection this weekend.

The WAFL umpires couldn’t do anything about it because they are not allowed to report or investigate off-the-ball incidents. Therefore, if Kerr was to be examined for his strike on Blackwell, the Claremont Football Club had to lodge a ‘notice of investigation’ themselves.

Blackwell was asked for his version of events and indicated to the club “there was contact (but) it wasn’t forceful.” He added that his surprised reaction was due to “either sweat or oil from Kerr’s arm” dropping into his eyes.

Please. We’re not dumb, Luke.

The contact was high, deliberate and vigorous. Cowardly too, considering Blackwell’s defenceless position on the turf.

Kerr’s brain fade was a disgraceful act, especially because he’s a player who’s under immense pressure to recapture his outstanding form of season’s past.

Blackwell clearly protected Kerr and the Eagles by taking no action on the incident. Claremont had every right to lodge a complaint with the league, but instead chose to let the incident slide in fear of the possible consequences.

The WAFL and its clubs deeply value AFL-listed players lining-up in the league when they haven’t been selected to play with West Coast or Fremantle in the same weekend. Their presence generates revenue and exposure for the league, plus it gives sides a greater chance of winning.

But imagine if Claremont had dobbed on Kerr – no doubt West Coast would’ve been furious. The trust between the Eagles – perhaps the Dockers too – and other WAFL clubs would’ve been tarnished and the possibility of AFL-listed players representing WAFL teams might’ve taken a serious blow.

The AFL must also take some responsibility for this farcical situation. This is the statement they gave TV show Footy Classified on Monday night:

“The AFL only has jurisdiction over AFL players in AFL matches. It’s up to the WAFL to deal with it. If it’s in a practice match between two AFL clubs then it is under our jurisdiction.”

That is an ordinary response.

Isn’t the AFL the governing body of footy in this country? Isn’t it their job to put an end to these types of incidents? Isn’t it their job to make sure the game stays clean? Isn’t it their job to encourage young kids to play?

The AFL had the authority to step in on this incident and take action if they wanted to. Adrian Anderson – general manager of football operations – should’ve come down hard on the Eagles and incurred some sort of penalty.

Instead, Kerr walked away from the game a free man and, barring any fitness concerns, will play for the Eagles against North Melbourne this Sunday.

The majority of the footy world wants Kerr to return to his best. His pace across the ground, composure in traffic and quick hands places him in the top 10 players in the country when in form.

But Kerr should not be playing footy this weekend. Nonsense incidents like these give the game a bad image and they simply can’t afford to be left alone.

Kerr was lucky he was wearing an East Fremantle jumper on Saturday, not a West Coast one.