#AFL Round 13 weekly discussion thread

[707]

Ben Stratton - yes; what was he thinking. I haven't watched Stratton closely in the past but he seems quite clean. He doesn't have a reputation as a dirty player. Please correct me if i'm wrong.
He probably won't play against us this week - which is a bonus for us.

My manager is a Hawthorn fan and he was fairly unimpressed with Strattons actions.

You are looking for a new job, aren't you? Or better still, just take over his job!

[Nico]

The MRP is a joke. Ziebell and Brown both went with elbow/forearm raised at GWS players and made contact. There is no doubt, they went at the players. With all the diatribe that went on with Ablett you would think that the standard was set. But no these 2 players got off and now get another shot before they get suspended.

Again, does a player have to be maimed before they stamp out this deliberate stuff. Ziebell jumped off the ground for goodness sake, and Brown went directly high on the player. Clearly both deliberate acts.

[Mel_C]

The MRP is a joke. Ziebell and Brown both went with elbow/forearm raised at GWS players and made contact. There is no doubt, they went at the players. With all the diatribe that went on with Ablett you would think that the standard was set. But no these 2 players got off and now get another shot before they get suspended.

Again, does a player have to be maimed before they stamp out this deliberate stuff. Ziebell jumped off the ground for goodness sake, and Brown went directly high on the player. Clearly both deliberate acts.

I haven't seen the Ziebell incident so I can't comment on that but I did see the Brown one. I didn't think that the force was enough for it to be a reportable act so I'm not surprised that he wasn't suspended.

[Nico]

I haven't seen the Ziebell incident so I can't comment on that but I did see the Brown one. I didn't think that the force was enough for it to be a reportable act so I'm not surprised that he wasn't suspended.

Mel, I see it as an intentional hit. What if he hit him flush and knocked him out. I don't get it why they have to do it. Ziebell has career form on this type of incident.

[dejavoodoo44]

From an Alistair Clarkson interview:
"I'm bewildered, in a sense, by just how significant the discussion becomes on it … In terms of the severity of things that have happened on the football field, jeez, I think this is minor. I've been around footy a long time (and) if that's the worst thing that's happened on a footy field …I can't marry up the hysteria with the actual event."

Which is a classic straw man argument, where he inaccurately claims that people are saying that it's "the worst thing that's happened on the footy field", in order to portray those criticising Stratton, as somehow unhinged and hysterical. While it's possible that some people on social media have been a bit rabid, I don't think any actual commentator has labelled it, "the worst thing that's happened on the footy field". So what Clarkson's doing, is painting a false scenario, in order to discredit valid criticism. Criticism that rightly labels Stratton's actions as cynical and grubby cheating, which deserves to be punished.

[Mel]

I don't know how I missed this over the weekend but...

AFL 2019: Security guard Blundstone Arena, steps on ground, North Melbourne vs GWS Giants

What was he thinking?

[Blood Fever]

I don't know how I missed this over the weekend but...

AFL 2019: Security guard Blundstone Arena, steps on ground, North Melbourne vs GWS Giants

What was he thinking?

Probably a reflex action when he saw two blokes fighting ten metres away.

[KTigers]

I don't know how I missed this over the weekend but...

AFL 2019: Security guard Blundstone Arena, steps on ground, North Melbourne vs GWS Giants

What was he thinking?

He felt really bad after that mix-up at his previous job in Launceston as the time keeper at York Park, and he thought
he'd make amends by stopping the players from fighting.

[dimelb]

Now that's what I call real entertainment, not the sludge we get over the loud speakers!

[Beerman]

I don't know how I missed this over the weekend but...

AFL 2019: Security guard Blundstone Arena, steps on ground, North Melbourne vs GWS Giants

What was he thinking?

I could hardly believe I was seeing it. It’s amateur hour at the football. Really, it’s poorly organised suburban league stuff. Hard to believe that the guard has ever been to a football game in his life, or watched one on TV.

My guess is they are dragging people off the street and the training is a supervisor saying “Sit there. Make sure no-one goes on the ground. Stop people from fighting. Report to me after the game to pick up your pay”.

[Sandrevan]

The MRP is a joke. Ziebell and Brown both went with elbow/forearm raised at GWS players and made contact. There is no doubt, they went at the players. With all the diatribe that went on with Ablett you would think that the standard was set. But no these 2 players got off and now get another shot before they get suspended.

Again, does a player have to be maimed before they stamp out this deliberate stuff. Ziebell jumped off the ground for goodness sake, and Brown went directly high on the player. Clearly both deliberate acts.

I'm with you on this Nico. Raising an elbow like both Ziebell and Brown did shows intent. The result of the lifted elbow could be no damage or serious damage. Slight variation in timing could result in broken jaw, nose, eye socket. etc. Why is a player only sanctioned when there is some real damage? Does anyone remember Jeremy Camerons hit on Harris Andrews (Lions) last year? Camerons defence was "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him"

What this tells players is that you can wack an opponent in the head and most likely get away with it. There's already enough head damage in AFL without intentional acts. What happened to the head being sacrosanct?

[KTigers]

I think "the head being sacrosanct" is basically a slogan. It's seems you can deliberately hit another player in the head
and get away with it. Just because the player who cops an elbow to the head and gets up afterwards doesn't mean
he hasn't suffered some kind of head or brain injury. Who knows what the long term effects might be? I can't imagine
they'll be good. Jeremy Cameron or Jack Ziebell saying "sorry" won't count for much in twenty years time when
the players they hit are long retired, and can't hold down a job because they can't concentrate properly or suffer
from constant headaches. The head isn't sacrosanct, it's a target for some of these guys.

[Matty10]

From an Alistair Clarkson interview:
"I'm bewildered, in a sense, by just how significant the discussion becomes on it … In terms of the severity of things that have happened on the football field, jeez, I think this is minor. I've been around footy a long time (and) if that's the worst thing that's happened on a footy field …I can't marry up the hysteria with the actual event."

Which is a classic straw man argument, where he inaccurately claims that people are saying that it's "the worst thing that's happened on the footy field", in order to portray those criticising Stratton, as somehow unhinged and hysterical. While it's possible that some people on social media have been a bit rabid, I don't think any actual commentator has labelled it, "the worst thing that's happened on the footy field". So what Clarkson's doing, is painting a false scenario, in order to discredit valid criticism. Criticism that rightly labels Stratton's actions as cynical and grubby cheating, which deserves to be punished.

I might have to use this in my next English class.

[Matty10]

Probably a reflex action when he saw two blokes fighting ten metres away.

They went to town on this during On the Couch, but I think you are right.

I keep thinking about the day that Peter Sumich nearly died on the football field. Not everything that happens on the field is part of the game. This wasn’t happening in this instance, but the issue is not cut and dried.

[stevoswan]

I don't know how I missed this over the weekend but...

AFL 2019: Security guard Blundstone Arena, steps on ground, North Melbourne vs GWS Giants

What was he thinking?

Just like his employer, the AFL, he was over reaching.