Match Day Thread Rnd 18 Sydney V St Kilda. SCG. 19.25pm.

[aardvark]

If Reiwoldt had taken that mark that Towers took we would not have heard the end of it from the commentators. It was brilliant and should have received more attention.

Absolutely agree. The silence was deafening.

[dejavoodoo44]

Common sense prevails at the MRP, if not in the C7 commentary box. Heeney cleared.

Heeney cleared to play - sydneyswans.com.au

Yes, no case to answer. And as an added bonus, Toby Greene got two weeks. Ahhh, my faith in the AFL administration is restored...for at least the next hour or two.

[penga]

Sorry... compared to the rest of his season, he had an awesome game.
Better?

Fair. It's all relative.

[AnnieH]

Yes, no case to answer. And as an added bonus, Toby Greene got two weeks. Ahhh, my faith in the AFL administration is restored...for at least the next hour or two.

He's a dirty little thing, isn't he? He should have gotten a month. He hasn't learnt anything with two week suspensions.

[iigrover]

"It was the view of the panel that Heeney took Geary straight to ground without using excessive force and no further action was required."

So basically, it also wasnt a free kick?

[bloodspirit]

From afl.com.au:

Sydney midfielder Isaac Heeney has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a dangerous tackle on St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary.

The MRP found Heeney "took Geary straight to ground without using excessive force" after the St Kilda defender had leapt into the air before contact was made.

[AnnieH]

"It was the view of the panel that Heeney took Geary straight to ground without using excessive force and no further action was required."

So basically, it also wasnt a free kick?

There were a lot of Ainters free kicks that weren't really there.
The umpires helped them as much as they could... they are still @@@@e.

[Meg]

Re the Heeney tackle - the video and commentary on the AFL site is titled 'Isaac's dangerous spear tackle'. And on the Swans' site the very same video and commentary is labelled 'Heeney's strong tackle'.

Ha! Some time in the last couple of days the description of 'spear' has been deleted from the title to the Heeney tackle video on the AFL site. Someone at least recognised the absurdity of the TV commentary.

It still reads as. 'dangerous tackle' which it wasn't. As the MRP have now said ('Heeney took Geary straight to ground without using excessive force').

[0918330512]

"It was the view of the panel that Heeney took Geary straight to ground without using excessive force and no further action was required."

So basically, it also wasnt a free kick?

It can still be a free kick without being reportable. Not that it should have been, but it can be

[wolftone57]

There were a lot of Ainters free kicks that weren't really there.
The umpires helped them as much as they could... they are still @@@@e.

I agree with this. The Saints were allowed to throw and drop the ball but when we do it they get a free. Why did they get 50 metre penalties when we get a 25? The umpires certainly tried to get them back in it. I thought they were trying to manage the damage in the last hoping to lower the percentage against

[ugg]

Coaches' votes

10 Sinclair
5 Franklin, Melican
4 Grundy
3 Dunstan
2 Heeney
1 Kennedy

Breakdown
Sinclair 5-5
Franklin/Melican 4-1/3-2
Grundy 4-0
Dunstan 3-0
Heeney 2-0
Kennedy 1-0

[Mel_C]

I agree with this. The Saints were allowed to throw and drop the ball but when we do it they get a free.

Yes there was one point in the centre square when a saints player dropped the ball but no free kick and 2 seconds later Papley was caught and was pinged. The Papley decision was correct but how can the same umpire miss the first one??

[Bloody Hell]

Agreed. He did nothing wrong at any point during the tackle. It was technically perfect.

- - - Updated - - -



Couldn't agree more.

I suspect he saw it as a lifting tackle, hence the rugby reference - but the reality is Geary jumped into it. The replay was one of the dumbest things I've seen. He's lucky he didn't get dumped on his head. Heeney got low and drove - it's what you're supposed to do.

[Meg]

I suspect he saw it as a lifting tackle, hence the rugby reference - but the reality is Geary jumped into it.

I agree, the ump simply made a mistake.

I think Grady saw tackle coming and jumped to try to keep his arms free to attempt to get a handball away.

[liz]

I can understand why the umpire paid the free kick. He didn't have the benefit of watching the replay. He'd have just seen a player in the air in a tackle.

With the benefit of a replay, I marvel at Heeney's technique. He wouldn't have been expecting Geary to become airbound, and it could, quite easily, have turned out a bit nasty. I thought Heeney did incredibly well to control Geary's body drop and to guide him to ground. He even had his hand slightly underneath Geary's shoulder, which broke the impact slightly.