The Adelaide Crows and Shane McAdam are set to appeal the AFL’s tribunal decision that handed down a three-match ban.
Thomas Duggan KC, advocating on behalf of McAdam, made a perplexing argument on Tuesday, that contact was made primarily with Jacob Wehr’s shoulder and chest during the Crows clash with GWS in Round 1.
Any reasonable person with functioning eyes can see that McAdam’s shoulder makes contact initially and simultaneously with Wehr’s chin and chest, then milliseconds later his head is violently slammed into McAdam’s back and shoulder.
Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson disagreed and deemed the bump to be unreasonable due to the velocity, carelessness, and potential to cause serious injury.
Adelaide thought it necessary to bring in expert opinion from human movement specialist Dr. Robert Crowther, who evaluated the contact as being no higher than Wehr’s chin. I could find no evidence of Dr. Crowther having publications addressing mechanics relating to high contact in sports at all, with his primary focus based on lower limb injuries and rehabilitation.
It would appear ludicrous to bring in an expert opinion to evaluate the interpretation of where contact was made, as this doesn’t require a high level of expertise. Any reasonable person could identify where contact was made. This is a further indictment on the Adelaide Crows attempt to cast doubt on the serious issue and nature of concussion.
Making an argument that the very first instance of contact is made below the head is irrelevant because there is insufficient time between the supposed contact on the shoulder and chest being transferred to the head, to warrant that it wasn’t the primary point of contact.
That occurs simultaneously with head, chin, shoulder, and chest. It’s beyond comprehension how the Crows could try to have the charge downgraded based on facts that simply aren’t true.
AFL counsel Andrew Woods argued that McAdam elected to bump, breaching his duty of care when he was in a position to tackle. This is the frustrating aspect of this bump, as it could’ve been avoided all together. The bump should be primarily used to defend or compete for territory when your opponent doesn’t have possession of the ball.
Adding further ignorance to the agenda was former Adelaide Crows captain Mark Bickley who took exception to the grading of McAdam’s bump. He compared Kysaiah Pickett’s hit, graded high impact compared to McAdam’s hit, graded severe, which automatically refers the player to the tribunal.
Bickley went on to criticise the system as being unpredictable and that Pickett’s hit was very much the same but was lucky not to be graded severe due to the recipient of the hit, Bailey Smith, immediately getting up and playing out the game.
It’s an audacious and bias analysis of an incident that deserves no sympathy. There’s no reasonable argument that McAdam’s hit wasn’t fairly graded as severe, and each incident should be analysed independently to avoid bias.
When a player elects to bump, especially when the bump is on the ball carrier and you make contact to the head or in the vicinity of the head, you are susceptible to the subjective interpretation of the bump.
There will always be bickering in regard to the severity of contact and the extent of damage in these scenarios but that should not invoke sympathy when drawing on comparative incidents that are punished less severely.
The AFL should continue to give no leeway in regard to head high contact and endeavour to advocate for the safety of its players even if that means having inconsistency in interpretation.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Could Patrick Dangerfield be winging his way back to Adelaide? The Crows are reportedly set to target the veteran star for 2024 to help…
For somewhere between two and three and a half quarters, depending on how generous you want to be, Adelaide didn't do a whole lot…
Former great Jimmy Bartel is 'incredibly uncomfortable' at the prospect of Tarryn Thomas being given a second chance at an AFL career, as the…
Last, year in the second showdown, Adelaide destroyed Port by 47 points with a staggering 20 marks inside 50 with Tex Walker the main star.
There’s no disputing that Cam Guthrie will be important against Melbourne, given Patrick Dangerfield is set to miss due to injury.
