Really good article about the Toby Greene incident in the West Australian Today by Mark Duffield...
No Winners In Giant Debacle
Toby Greene's club, Greater Western Sydney, is outraged. His Manager, Paul Connors, says the AFL judicial process is a disgrace.
Spare us the outrage please and spare us Connor's colorful language. If we are going to be honest about what should and shouldn't be happening here, Greene shouldn't be playing this week because he shouldn't have played last week.
And given that he was one of the best two players on the ground in the Giant's last-gasp win against Brisbane at the Gabba last Saturday night, that means it probably should be the Lions lining up in today's preliminary final against Collingwood, not the Giants.
Those entitled to be outraged the most are Brisbane generally, Lachie Neale specifically and Marcus Bontempelli.
Greene gave Neale a facial, and Bontempelli the previous week not only got the facial, but was also the recipient of a novel and unique attempt at hair extensions.
Is the AFL Tribunal a joke? Probably, although no one seems to be laughing much.
Greene should absolutely have been suspended for what he did to Bontempelli and the $7,500 he was fined for "serious misconduct" said as much.
The whole thing reeked of a negotiated outcome - a "we know you should be suspended for this but we would prefer that you played" kind of verdict.
Similarly, this week reeked of match review officer Michael Christian, the AFL Tribunal and the appeals board all letting Greene know "you were given a chance, you didn't learn, so have a week off and see if that teaches you anything".
None of it does the AFL any credit, but nor does it hand Greene any moral high ground. What he did to Bontempelli was as bad a look for the game as anything we have seen this year. He took a player lying vunerable on the ground, swarmed his hands around his face and scalp, then grabbed two handfuls of hair and pulled.
This was not tough football, this was not playing on the edge. This was playing in an unhinged fashion way out of line with the standards and expectations of an elite sport. He should have been banned.
The AFL Tribunal should have known that appeasement doesn't always work -- certainly not with footballers prone to white line fever.
In round one this year, after the AFL had warned it was clamping down on the gut and jumper punches that had become commonplace, Ben Cunnington belted Fremantle's Nathan Wilson in the stomach off the ball at Optus Stadium.
The AFL could have suspended Cunnington and backed up it's message. But it only fined Cunnington, who spent the rest of the season working his way through the phone book with tummy punches delivered both in and around the ball.
He wasn't suspended. He was never fined more than $5,000 for any one hit despite being warned that he was on the verge of suspension. That tells you how ludicrous the Greene fine of $7,500 instead of suspension was.
Connors is one of the AFL's most respected player managers for good reason and was sticking up for his client but he should be giving Greene some sound advice: "Stop doing it."
According to Connors, the Neale incident was nothing more than three players trying to lock the ball in. Which ball was that? The football of Neale's eyeball?
Greene's hand was in close vicinity to Neale's eye, which is right next to the nose Connors said the hand had come into contact with.
The Giants need to get ready for today. If they win, they should be having a pretty stern talk to Greene about what is and isn't acceptable on grand final day.
If they lose. the same talk should be had. The only difference is they have all summer to have it.