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The comp is struggling for integrity. They finally made a fair call on the jumper clash. Now they must suspend Cochin. He has form. He took out GWS best player with a bump against the player with the ball, causing concussion. This is an open and shut case this year.
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I knew as soon as Shiel was ruled out that it made it almost impossible for GWS to win. This guy is an elite player, basically
the Chris Judd of the current era, just sheer class, and as good as Kelly, Coniglio & Ward are, they can't spend all that extra
time on the field and make up for him being out of action.Comment
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I don't disagree that Shiel's loss was costly for the Giants, but that doesn't necessarily make Cotchin's action suspendable (and certainly doesn't make it a sending off offence). It comes down to whether it was in the process of legitimately contesting the ball or whether there was an element of deliberation to it. People will have different views on that, and the MRP will have to adjudicate tomorrow.
It is quite possible for players to get hit in the head (and concussed) accidentally during a game. For example, we lost Jake Lloyd very early in the first game against the Hawks when his head hit the knee of a Hawks player as he was being tackled.
And in incidents with less of an obvious accidental nature, do people think Hanners should have been suspended for that collision with Hurley a few years back? Or Jones earlier this year, when he bee-lined the ball but clipped an opponent on the way through? Or Mills, when he made contact with the head of a St Kilda player in the first Saints game of this season? I can't remember who the Saints player was, but he went off with concussion, early in the game, and didn't return. Both players were contesting the ball.
I am not making a comparison between the Cotchin incident and the specifics of these incidents, just pointing out that just because a player goes off with concussion, it doesn't necessarily mean anyone should be suspended.
My view is that Cotchin was legimately contesting the ball in that incident.
I do think the incident later, where he clipped Hopper in the head and off the ball, warrants attention, however. That, to me, was less in the spirit of the game and while it wouldn't warrant a suspension on its own (because degree of impact wasn't hard enough), it could well qualify for a fine (which would rule Cotchin out).Comment
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If you elect to bump instead of attempting to pick up the ball up you have a duty of care not to collect the player in the head. They will look at the giants dr's report and that's why he should be cited. By the mrp grading system it's careless, low impact (I'm being nice, he has delayed concussion due to impact) & high. With a guilty plea it's $1000 fine or not guilty would give him a $1500 fine which in Cotchins situation is his 3rd fine for the year which gives him a 1 week suspension. It's guilty all the time.
It's a waist of time talking about previous incidents as the MRP does not look at precendents.
Even with a best case scenario like I've done he misses a week.
And after that they should appeal n that's when we'll find out how serious the afl is about head high contact in the game.
Lastly he's not getting suspended for the bump he's getting suspended because he held piece of jumper and punched someone in the face, he punched an opposition player in the abdomen and then bumped a players head which resulted in concussion. He is getting suspended because he was expected to learn from 2 previous incidents n did not take the warnings and now it's 3rd strike n he should be suspended.Last edited by Boddo; 24 September 2017, 05:18 PM.Comment
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He didn't elect to bump, he contested a footy that was in dispute, similar to the case with Hanners and Hurley a few years back that Liz cited.
Different to the one on Whitfield that was a bump that collected nothing but head, albeit low impact.He ate more cheese, than time allowedComment
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Shiel got his hands to the ball first, but the ball was definitely in dispute not in his possession.
FWIW I'd prefer the crows to win next week so not cheerleading for Cotchin by any means.He ate more cheese, than time allowedComment
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The AFL has a duty of care to Swans' supporters who will have to listen for the next 30 years how Richmond's premiership was stolen from them if Cotchin gets suspended. Whether he deserves it or not, I hope he gets off, so we can move on to something else after the Grand Final, like what's going on with Kim Jong-un's haircut.Comment
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I'd rather Cotchin there so there isn't any excuses. If that's round 9 it's a fine. It's in their rules written in black and white. When it first happened I felt like throwing my glass at the tv because the idiots talking about the game kept craping on about his shoulder n I could see straight away he got him head high. He elected to bump, you can see he tries hard to go low get the bump first n then trap the ball. You see players do this regularly. Papley is very good at it. But again he chose to bump.
Cotchin's bump on Shiel | Fox Sports Videos
It only deserves a fine. The bigger question is his brain fades with the jumper punch n the one to the abdomen.
Their only out imo is to say the concussion happened in another contest.Comment
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I'm not sure that it true. IFF the MRP does determine Cotchin's action was a bump, I think that the fact Shiel sat out the rest of the game with concussion would be enough to earn a grading that would make this incident suspendable in its own right. I don't see how they could assess the impact to be "low". "Medium" impact gets two matches (down to one with an early plea) while "high" impact gets three (down to 2). So his previous offences are irrelevant in this instance.
They wouldn't be irrelevant if the MRP determines Cotchin has no case to answer in the Shiel incident (ie because they determine he didn't choose to bump) but they do have a closer look at his contact on Hopper (which does appear to be a bump). A grading of "low" in that case would lead to a fine and hence Cotchin to miss the GF.Comment
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Watching the game I was left with the distinct impression that Cotchin was fired up to by example, and was playing on the edge. I have no idea which way it will go- it would suck for him to miss out on a Grand Final for being reckless, but I think it probably sucks more for Shiel to miss out on a Preliminary Final for someone else being reckless.I knew him as a gentle young man, I cannot say for sure the reasons for his decline
We watched him fade before our very eyes, and years before his timeComment
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Typical Richmond to make a grand final without Captain.
Cotchin has been fired up since he was accused of being a finals failure. Pushed the line to far, but worth it. Get him up here to talk to Gary Rohan.Comment
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In regards to the grading of low I did right "I'm being nice" to show even at the lowest possible grading that he would still be suspended.
Fully agree in regards to the Hopper bump.
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He's played on the edge all year. To give him credit it appears to have lifted him to another level all yearComment
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I can't believe that no one has commented on Alex Rance's reaction to Stevie J's brush against his head at half time.
All that talk about Paps staging mid season. Rance falls over when Buddy looks in his direction then looks like Mike Tyson gave him a 6 punch combo. Stevie lightly touches him Rancy looks like he took to him with a solid piece of 6x4.
I can imagine Rance sitting opposite the weiner kid at a birthday party. The weiner blows atbhe candles with insufficient force to extinguish any of them and Rance rolls backwards off his chair, for feet into a wallComment
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