The AFL fails the game - again

It’s never a surprise when the AFL is pissweak and selective about on-field indiscretions.

There is no consistency, although it seems there should be.

In today’s landscape, the head’s sacrosanct. It must be protected at all costs. That’s why bumps are effectively outlawed. That’s why the sling tackle’s considered so dangerous. But a strike to the back of the head? Hmm, well, that’s not quite as bad.

Towards the end of the third quarter in Saturday’s Richmond-Collingwood clash, Tiger defender Rhyan Mansell fell into the back of Magpie forward Jack Ginnivan. Mansell drove a forearm into the back of Ginnivan’s head – that first blow might’ve been accidental, a result of momentum.

But then Mansell did it again intentionally.

And the response to it?

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick didn’t think anything of it. “End of the day, I didn‘t notice it compared to any other player,” he said in his post-game press conference. “But we want our small backs to be physical and like most other backs in the AFL, they’d be doing exactly the same.”

Well, he’s trying to prejudice the context to make sure that we all know that, hey, it’s tough out there, and sometimes things happen. Um, okay.

“He’ll cop a fine or a week for that – probably a fine because it was low impact,” commentator Jason Dunstall said during the game.

Low impact?

This seems to be the media’s response. Certainly, nobody’s highlighted it and talked about it with the gravity that it deserves.

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Let’s take a step back here: what would my punishment be if I walked into a bar, had a heated verbal exchange with somebody, and when they weren’t looking decided to strike them in the back of the head? Could I go to court and argue, “Hey, it’s low impact”?

Years ago, this type of attack was branded a “king hit”. Then there was a rightly a push to de-glamorise it. “King hit” sounded noble. It had a majesty about it. Nope – it had to be branded for what it was. It then became the “coward’s punch”, which was much more fitting. Tragically, there are a litany of examples of people who’ve been struck this way, and then suffered serious injuries or died later.

Nobody should be finding this defensible.

I’m unsure why the AFL doesn’t categorise these incidents as the worst of the worst.

The way I break it down is there are three types of indiscretions in Australian Rules.

1. Acts the AFL are trying to police out of the game, such as the bump (to the head) and the sling tackle
2. Acts that are a result of incidental contact, e.g. a late spoil that collects an opponent in the face
3. Acts off the ball, or acts of pure thuggery, e.g. a strike.

The last should always be considered worse. They’re not football choices that are mistimed (e.g. a late spoil) or that have gone wrong (a bump that’s collected the face of an opponent).

It’s a conscious choice that a player makes in that moment to hurt an opponent. There’s no rationale or excuse for it. They’re the one act that you can parallel with wilful and violent behaviour anywhere. These decisions have no place in life, let alone football.

Some will counter that Jack Ginnivan got under Mansell’s skin, or that Ginnivan’s so annoying it’s unsurprising he got some sort of comeuppance. Defences such as this are victim blaming. If Hardwick can argue it’s the job of his defenders to be physical, then surely Ginnivan can be annoying and try put them off the game.

If the AFL truly is intent on cleaning up the game, acts like this should not only be punished, they should be punished so heavily that it becomes an immediate deterrent. No player in any league should ever think for an instant that this is okay.

Rhyan Mansell might be a young player still finding his way in the game, but that’s all the more reason this is where the line should be drawn.

The AFL should not only be taking a tough stance, they should be sending a message to footballers everywhere that this behaviour is unacceptable.

Uh-uh. One week. That’s the penalty.

I guess the AFL will just wait until somebody does seriously get hurt before they take real action.