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There was a simultaneous groan from Melbourne fans on Friday night at Etihad and it wasn’t because of the insipid performance. For the second time this year, demon Jack Trengove had made what many would label “the perfect tackle”.
The problem with this is that the first of those tackles (in Melbourne’s win over Adelaide) landed Trengove three weeks on the sidelines.
With the Demons facing a critical month with Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Geelong and Carlton, it could have been season over, had Trengove been suspended.
So what made the tackle on Dangerfield any worse than the tackle on Ward?
Firstly, Dangerfield received a mild concussion, which meant it was expected he would miss at least one game (he played the next week, picking up six goals against the Gold Coast).
Ward, on the other hand, was left uninjured after the tackle and was correctly penalised for holding the ball.
Umpires’ boss Jeff Gieschen stated this week though, that he believed the field umpires got the decision against Ward wrong.
”In an instance like that, even if the player is holding the ball, the rough play aspect overrides it.”
This begs the question of whether the laws of the game are made clear enough to the players.
If a player is taught to tackle in the way that Trengove has and this is supported by the player’s club, then why are the rules so protective of the player with the ball.
Surely, the MRP and suspensions that are issued, can reflect the severity of the offence that has occurred.
Trengove, for putting Dangerfield in danger should have faced one week maximum out, whereas his tackle on Ward resulted in no injury nor the player being endangered, and was a correct decision.
Earlier this season, Gold Coast vice-captain Campbell Brown received four weeks off for two combined offences (an elbow off the ball on Callan Ward and a high bumped on Barry Hall)
Another concern for fans, how more severe incidents (Justin Sherman’s racial vilification), while still punished, allow the players to play out their suspension with their club’s feeder sides.
Surely there has to be something that Andrew Demetriou and Jeff Gieschen can work on, to avoid the inconsistencies that are plaguing one of the best seasons in recent memory.
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