Approaching the halfway mark of the season, many are already of the opinion that Gary Ablett will claim his third Brownlow Medal.
Given his scintillating form, the only factors that will prevent the Suns captain from winning the AFL’s most esteemed honour are injury or suspension.
It was the latter that became a distinct possibility last weekend, after he elbowed Western Bulldogs tagger Liam Picken.
After the match review panel gave Ablett the all-clear, criticism has been levelled at the judiciary and Ablett on the basis of double standards. Comparisons were drawn to the recent Steve Johnson incident, which saw the Geelong superstar handed a one-week suspension for head-butting Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley.
It’s well and good to compare two incidents as if they are identical, but these were apples and oranges.
Both were relatively low-impact and did no damage, but this is where the similarities end.
Given the high number and frequency of head-high incidents going before the match review panel, it is clear the AFL takes a tough stance on any form of head-high contact. Jack Viney having to appeal a suspension for accidentally breaking the jaw of Adelaide’s Tom Lynch in a contest he could not avoid is testament to that.
Johnson stupidly tried to mask the head-butt on Crowley and the fact he acted with intent compounded the situation.
In contrast, Ablett’s action was no less savage than the common jumper-punch seen regularly in most matches. As stated by Picken himself, the elbow hit him in the chest and avoided any head-high contact, nor did he sustain no type of injury as a result. Had Ablett made clear contact to the head it would have been a different outcome, regardless of injury and the force applied.
The other factor forgotten in all of this is the stark contrast in suspension records of both Johnson and Ablett.
Johnson is been seen an on-field villain. In the past two years he has been suspended for five games, and it is this poor-record combined with carry-over points that was his eventual undoing. The Crowley incident drew 125 demerit points, but his poor record saw it increase by 30 per cent, with another 71.78 carry-over demerit points added, bringing it to 234.28. The total was reduced by 25 per cent to 175.31 for his early guilty plea.
If Johnson did not have the poor record or carry-over points, he could have missed and time out, with an early guilty plea reducing the 125 points to 93.75. Instead, he could only reduce a two-game ban to one.
Compare that to Ablett, who in his illustrious 12-year career has never been suspended. The only indiscretion he has been cited for is a rough conduct charge in Round 10, 2006 – which he was cleared of.
In this case, Ablett had nothing to answer for, and all evidence provided by Picken supports that. To anyone who believes there is some grand conspiracy behind it all needs to deal in facts and evidence, as these are what clear Ablett.
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