Hall vs Lewis

[CureTheSane]

From Fox Sports.com

"Hawthorn's Jordan Lewis has promised to stay out of trouble after a lucky escape at the AFL tribunal, where he avoided suspension despite punching an opponent in the stomach."

This from someone who has TWICE before been suspended for striking North players.....
So far he has been charged with striking North players once in 2007, once in 2008 and once in 2009.
Seems he has an anger management problem, which seems to have slipped under the radar.

And another quote....

"Lewis was on Tuesday night found not guilty of striking North Melbourne's Firrito in Launceston last Sunday because the tribunal jury ruled the amount of force did not constitute a strike."

Hall could have used the same defence and got off.

I would have thought that Swans supporters would all be up in arms over this considering that they were so quick to smack down Hall for his anger management issues.

Perhaps North realise that Lewis is a valued player and if he strikes, then he will be suspended.
They may even opt to put him on a performance based contract, where he isn't paid if suspended.
That would make good sense.

[snajik]

[QUOTE=CureTheSane;449290]From Fox Sports.com

I would have thought that Swans supporters would all be up in arms over this considering that they were so quick to smack down Hall for his anger management issues.
QUOTE]

...but Hally has admitted that he does have anger management issues. You'd think he'd be a fairly reliable source.

Lewis probably should have been rubbed out, then again there are some that would argue that someone else should have been rubbed out subsequent to the 2005 Preliminary Final.

[CureTheSane]

I reckon Lewis should have gone too.
But the point of the matter is that the Hawks did what they had to do to keep their player playing.
As you note, the Swans once had that POV with Hall.

With pressure from the club, and the media, I'm sure Lewis would admit to his anger management problem.

[snajik]

In the wash-up I don't think anyone other than those associated with the Hawthorn Football Club and perhaps the media would really care that much about whether Lewis has an anger management issue or not. It seems that what you are saying is that the Swans should have / could have gone the extra mile in trying to defend Hall in relation to his striking charge on Rutten. Sometimes it comes down to perceptions. After the Staker incident Hally really had no choice but to become squeaky clean and remain that way. It probably proved too hard for a player with his particular playing style to attain that.

The difference between the Lewis incident and the Hall incident is that one was a punch to the stomach, one a blow to the head from a bloke who has hit opponents in the head previously. The AFL has stated that it will come down hard on head-high contact (even in an accidental bump context), so whether the hit was accidental or intentional, forceful or not, it was still a fist to the head and the Swans more than likely thought that there was little point in mounting a mitigating circumstances defence. They did run that route in 2005 in an incident that looked to be worse than the Rutten incident but that was pre-Staker and Hall had been clean at that stage since the Primus business so his conduct had been generally good.

We can only speculate about what was said by the club and by Hally in their secret meetings but I'm really not picking up on any bitterness from Baz about the way he was treated. I'm sensing that he is big enough to make his own decisions, and he seems to have been quite open and frank about where he feels he is at.

[Primmy]

[QUOTE=snajik;449305]

From Fox Sports.com


...but Hally has admitted that he does have anger management issues. You'd think he'd be a fairly reliable source.