Bachar Houli knows Waleed Aly and Malcolm Turnbull and is a really good bloke off the field, so when he intentionally hits someone on the football field and sends them into La La Land, he deserves a reduction of his sentence.
Two weeks for what he did is a disgrace, at the bare minimum he should have got four weeks, down to three. Not because he is a good bloke off the field, but because of his clean history on it.
Last year Tom Jonas got six weeks for his hit on Andrew Gaff and that incident was in play and not off the ball.
Clearly, Jonas needs to find some influential friends.
The amazing thing is if the tribunal had found Will Schofield guilty last night, he would be serving the same sentence as Houli
This brings me to the subject of my article, should the AFL bring in a ‘send off’ rule?
Ten minutes into the game and Carlton lose a player to a concussion for the rest of the game, yet the perpetrator of the illegal action stays on the field and finishes as one of his teams better players.
As soon as Lamb went down it was clear he was finished for the day and the Carlton coaching box would have been scrambling to change structures and adjust player rotations. In the Richmond coaching box, it was business as usual.
We now have situations whereby a goal umpire unsure of whether the score is a goal or behind can have the decision reviewed by a score review official, who goes through replay after replay to decide the correct decision.
So why can’t we have a situation where, if a player is forced from the ground as the result of a possible reportable offence by an opposition player, the field umpire has the opportunity to refer the incident to the same review official to ascertain if the action warrants the offender to be sent off the ground for the same period of time as the injured player?
Could we be seeing this in the AFL one day?
(AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)
I am not calling for players to be sent off if the victim is not forced from the field, but only where it is likely he will be off the ground for some time. When a player is forced from the ground with suspected concussion they are off for a mandatory 20 minutes.
The game does not have to stop to wait for a decision to be made. The field umpire just needs to advise he is referring the incident and while the game continues the review official goes through footage of the incident.
When comfortable with his decision he informs the field umpire. If the decision is to send the player off then at the next stoppage he is sent to the bench for the same period of time as the injured player. If there is any doubt then there is no send-off.
Did losing Lamb cost Carlton the game? Probably not, as Richmond were much better than the Blues, but it certainly made it more difficult for Carlton to win.
What if Schofield’s elbow had have connected to Clayton Oliver’s head? The action certainly had the potential to cause damage and Melbourne could possibly have been down a player for half a game while West Coast had a full complement of players. In a close game, it could be the difference between winning or losing.
I am sure there will be mixed opinions on this subject, so let’s debate the pros and cons.
TIM .MEAGHER
Guest
sin bin would stop cheap shots in grand final
Leonard
Guest
Rather liked the two-panel cartoon in today's Herald Sun: first panel has the sentence as two weeks, and the second, showing PM Turnbull and journo Aly rooting for Bachar with the judge then saying "Make is eight weeks"! What next, a note from a player's mum? Oppn Ldr Shorten following Turnbull with a "I object, no he isn't"? A txt fm il Papa or an email from the Dalai Lama?
mattyb
Guest
I'd say no for the sin bin. Like someone said,there is a chance it will be exploited and the umpires do make errors. If we were to have it you'd need to tidy up all the scragging and holding that takes place in a game. Houli did the wrong thing and has been suspended,but Lamb was clearly playing outside the rules of the game. A send off rule could see an unwanted increase in other ereas that also need to be stamped out. Houlis act was also accidental in the sense of the final outcome,best let these things be sorted out with the current tribunal system.
XI
Roar Guru
Exactly! Junior umpires only 2 years older than the kids they're umpiring have to learn to make these decisions. And all state leagues have them too so it's not like it's a long way back for the AFL umpires. Don't understand why it's not a thing still
Wayne
Roar Guru
The AFL are considering banning runners because they suspect they are setting up in the Defence Zone; and complained when substitutes were needed for injury rather than 3 qtr time for fresh player. They will look for anything they can to exploit a rule
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
Wayne, I doubt clubs would be looking to exploit it. By your scenario you have to get a player you are tagging to hit the tagger in the head forcing him from the ground. Do you think a player is going to do that knowing he could be sent off? I think the AFL would come down pretty hard on clubs if they suspected them of exploiting the rule.
Darren
Guest
I think SinBin would need to be for the act not the consequence. That will start to become very subjective and open to exploitation - as Wayne has pointed out.
I ate pies
Guest
The card system has been in place at the local level for decades; bring it in. It works, and the team that commits the offence should be punished.
Wayne
Roar Guru
If it was only for "suspected concussion" though, there is a risk that clubs would get a 'mid card' player to tag oppositions best player, get a head high hit, and go down with "suspected concussion".
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
Correct Paul. I don't want a situation where a team is playing a man down on the field. Just want an even playing field overall when a team is reduced to 21 players due to a reportable/send off offence by an opposition player, that players team should also be reduced to 21 players.
Cat
Roar Guru
As long as they still faced additional penalties, Sin Bin isn't the end. Also I have always felt when a player is judged to have intentionally hurt another player their suspension should be increased by the number of games the player who they hurt is out for. As an example, if Lamb misses this week because of ongoing concussion symptoms, Bachar would get a week added to his penalty.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I wouldn't mind a sin bin if the player could be replaced - can't have teams with only 17 on the field, it'd be a farce, but certainly it would make players think a bit more before belting a bloke if they knew they'd be sitting down immediately, rather than next week
Stirling Coates
Editor
It's worth noting that at virtually every level of Australian football, except for the AFL itself, there is a sin bin/send-off system. The vast majority of reportable offences see the player issued with a yellow card/sin-bin, which sees them off the field for either 15 game minutes or a quarter (varies league to league). They can, however, be replaced off the bench immediately, making the penalty more individual and rotation-based than completely hamstringing a team on the field. Extremely serious reportable offences, such as striking an umpire or kicking another person, sees the reported player issued with a red card. Red carded players are off the field for the rest of the match, and can't be replaced off the bench for either 15 games minutes or a quarter. Two yellows will also result in a red.