Anderson ironing out tribunal bumps
21 October 2006
Herald-Sun
Mike Sheahan
ADRIAN Anderson suggested this week the generous 25 per cent discount on suspensions for players with a good record will be reassessed.
Also that the five-year qualifying period will be extended to seven.
Seven years is far more appropriate, of course, for such a big discount for good behaviour.
The AFL football operations manager's two-year work in progress on all matters tribunal is coming together, albeit a little slower than Anderson would have us believe.
He also is willing to reconsider the contentious in play/behind the play classification, another encouraging development.
The definition of "behind the play" became irrelevant the moment Sydney's Barry Hall was deemed to have struck Matt Maguire (St Kilda) in play in the 2005 preliminary final. If that incident wasn't behind play, nor was a smack-on in the car park.
The AFL this week wrote to all 16 clubs, the AFL Players' Association, and all involved in the tribunal and match review process seeking input and ideas for the annual review of the system.
It's called looking at ways "we can continue to improve and refine our processes". That's both prudent and necessary.
Dispensing justice isn't easy in sport, and Anderson will have enjoyed himself this week as soccer wrestled with the Muscat/Kosmina incident and how best to serve the interests of all parties, including the game.
Muscat escaped with a yellow card for tipping the opposition coach off his chair, Kosmina with a notional six-match penalty after applying a sleeperhold on an opposition player.
Two of the six matches were suspended, and Kosmina is free to continue to coach, even if he must stay off the field.
Then there was the racing example, with Damien Oliver suspended for 14 meetings, yet still free to ride in the Caulfield Cup this afternoon and eligible to resume in time for Derby Day and the Melbourne Cup.
Cricket is going to be embarrassed by the outcome of the drug issue involving Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. The Pakistani pair face two-year bans after testing positive to a a prohibited substance, but I'd like to be as certain of backing the cup winner this afternoon as I am about them bobbing up on the field in the next couple of months.
It's a murky business when things boil down to interpretation, emotion and vested interest.
Anderson's review will focus on:
FRONT-ON bumps when a player has his head over the ball.
WHAT constitutes a legal bump.
THE "behind the play" category.
STRIKING to the testicles.
THE good-record discount.
Anderson might do himself a big favour by informally chatting with his match review panel, too.
To many of us, the major flaw in the system has been the wide variance in decisions on seemingly similar incidents. Shepherding, jumper punches, attempting to strike and tripping all seem to be a lucky dip.
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