Scott 5OPINION: The AFL Match Review Panel is like a raffle
July 2nd 2010 09:08
Australian Rules Football has many things that you love about the game and some things that just frustrate the hell out of you. I guess this could be said about any sport though. Anyway when it comes to Australian Rules Football, my pet hate, along with the vast majority at this moment in time is the bewildering decisions that come out of the Match Review Panel.
That’s right. Australian Rules Football has a panel that is responsible for reviewing all the matches in case of any incidents missed by umpires. Now, while this would be a dream job for any football supporter, having the opportunity to watch 8 games every weekend, for the men currently on the panel, it’s proving to be a living hell.
In 2005, this new system was introduced by Chief of Operations Adrian Anderson. This was in response to complaints from a good many people that the old system was fundamentally flawed and that inconsistency was depriving the game of the best players. As a result, the decision was taken to introduce a system which assigns players demerit points based on impact, contact and conduct (graded) but also offer discounts for good record and early guilty plea not to mention adds points for prior offences.
Impact can be defined according to the severity of contact. These levels are
- Severe – Incident which could lead to paralysis (i.e. front on contact)
- High – Incident that could lead to concussion (i.e. strike to the head)
- Medium – Incident that has potential for injury (i.e. charging)
- Low – incident which has contact that is negligible (i.e. punch to the stomach)
Contact refers to where the point of contact occurred. The only 2 categories for this are
- Head/Groin – Areas considered sacrosanct
- Body – Anything between the head and groin
Conduct refers to the manner in which the incident occurred. This is divided into 3 categories as follows
- Intentional – Incident that could be seen as deliberate (i.e. Barry Hall’s hit on Staker)
- Reckless – Incident that isn’t fully deliberate but also isn’t fully accidental
- Negligent – Incident that is accidental and breaches player’s duty of care
To explain this a bit better, I enclose the following example (made up of course)
Steve Wallis is reported for striking John Davies. This action is assessed as
- Reckless
- Medium Impact
- Body contact
Under the system, this is 5 activation points which is a level 2 offence which puts it at 125 points. Steve has been suspended in the past for 3 weeks which adds 30% onto the figure (37.5 points) and makes it 162.5 points. He decided to take an early plea which reduces the charge by 25% to 123.13 points. This equates to a 1 match ban and 23.13 points carry over for any future offences.
So based on this, the system seems fairly straight forward. Not so, this year in particular.
This year, the Match Review Panel has taken its level of consistency to a brand new low. Ask any football supporter but there are many decisions that puzzle people.
How is it that Essendon’s David Hille can be reported 3 times but escape suspension all 3 times?
How is it that Chris Judd can elbow Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich below the eye and draw blood but get off?
This is just for starters.
Being a Fremantle supporter, I only watch Freo games and can cite a couple of other instances that have left me, frankly bewildered.
In the Round 9 game between Sydney and Fremantle at the SCG, there were some strange incidents.
Twice, Sydney players ran into the umpires and under the rules, both incidents should’ve drawn fines. Nothing was done.
A Fremantle player accidentally tripped an umpire but he was trying to get the ball at that time. Umpire contact is met with a fine and according to the above example, the Freo guy should’ve got off. Nope, he got fined for contact with an umpire.
Later in that game, a Fremantle player made front on contact to a Sydney player who had his head over the ball. Under the rules, the head/shoulder is sacrosanct but it wasn’t even looked at.
Then there was the spiteful Round 12 game between Fremantle and St Kilda. St Kilda’s Stephen Milne actually grabbed Freo’s Chris Tarrant by the throat and started choking him. This would be misconduct and go directly to the tribunal but guess what, it wasn’t even looked at.
If these are just some examples from matches involving my club, multiply it by 16 clubs and you get a true picture of what is really going on.
I am a passionate football supporter who loves the game and all the drama that goes with it but the MRP is leaving an awful lot to be desired. The only consistency at the MRP this year is its inconsistency and it’s going to get to the stage where no-one will know what is and isn’t acceptable anymore because the interpretations change on a weekly basis.
Something has to be done about this or fans will get turned off the game and players will just be left bewildered and befuddled.
Let’s face it, the MRP is like a raffle
That’s right. Australian Rules Football has a panel that is responsible for reviewing all the matches in case of any incidents missed by umpires. Now, while this would be a dream job for any football supporter, having the opportunity to watch 8 games every weekend, for the men currently on the panel, it’s proving to be a living hell.
In 2005, this new system was introduced by Chief of Operations Adrian Anderson. This was in response to complaints from a good many people that the old system was fundamentally flawed and that inconsistency was depriving the game of the best players. As a result, the decision was taken to introduce a system which assigns players demerit points based on impact, contact and conduct (graded) but also offer discounts for good record and early guilty plea not to mention adds points for prior offences.
Impact can be defined according to the severity of contact. These levels are
- Severe – Incident which could lead to paralysis (i.e. front on contact)
- High – Incident that could lead to concussion (i.e. strike to the head)
- Medium – Incident that has potential for injury (i.e. charging)
- Low – incident which has contact that is negligible (i.e. punch to the stomach)
Contact refers to where the point of contact occurred. The only 2 categories for this are
- Head/Groin – Areas considered sacrosanct
- Body – Anything between the head and groin
Conduct refers to the manner in which the incident occurred. This is divided into 3 categories as follows
- Intentional – Incident that could be seen as deliberate (i.e. Barry Hall’s hit on Staker)
- Reckless – Incident that isn’t fully deliberate but also isn’t fully accidental
- Negligent – Incident that is accidental and breaches player’s duty of care
To explain this a bit better, I enclose the following example (made up of course)
Steve Wallis is reported for striking John Davies. This action is assessed as
- Reckless
- Medium Impact
- Body contact
Under the system, this is 5 activation points which is a level 2 offence which puts it at 125 points. Steve has been suspended in the past for 3 weeks which adds 30% onto the figure (37.5 points) and makes it 162.5 points. He decided to take an early plea which reduces the charge by 25% to 123.13 points. This equates to a 1 match ban and 23.13 points carry over for any future offences.
So based on this, the system seems fairly straight forward. Not so, this year in particular.
This year, the Match Review Panel has taken its level of consistency to a brand new low. Ask any football supporter but there are many decisions that puzzle people.
How is it that Essendon’s David Hille can be reported 3 times but escape suspension all 3 times?
How is it that Chris Judd can elbow Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich below the eye and draw blood but get off?
This is just for starters.
Being a Fremantle supporter, I only watch Freo games and can cite a couple of other instances that have left me, frankly bewildered.
In the Round 9 game between Sydney and Fremantle at the SCG, there were some strange incidents.
Twice, Sydney players ran into the umpires and under the rules, both incidents should’ve drawn fines. Nothing was done.
A Fremantle player accidentally tripped an umpire but he was trying to get the ball at that time. Umpire contact is met with a fine and according to the above example, the Freo guy should’ve got off. Nope, he got fined for contact with an umpire.
Later in that game, a Fremantle player made front on contact to a Sydney player who had his head over the ball. Under the rules, the head/shoulder is sacrosanct but it wasn’t even looked at.
Then there was the spiteful Round 12 game between Fremantle and St Kilda. St Kilda’s Stephen Milne actually grabbed Freo’s Chris Tarrant by the throat and started choking him. This would be misconduct and go directly to the tribunal but guess what, it wasn’t even looked at.
If these are just some examples from matches involving my club, multiply it by 16 clubs and you get a true picture of what is really going on.
I am a passionate football supporter who loves the game and all the drama that goes with it but the MRP is leaving an awful lot to be desired. The only consistency at the MRP this year is its inconsistency and it’s going to get to the stage where no-one will know what is and isn’t acceptable anymore because the interpretations change on a weekly basis.
Something has to be done about this or fans will get turned off the game and players will just be left bewildered and befuddled.
Let’s face it, the MRP is like a raffle
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