Rhyan Mansell cops 3 weeks from the Tribunal [updated]

[eliminator]

Dillon made comments today that the safety of players is paramount.... Sam Lalor's safety was clearly not paramount

he also said that comparisons to previous incidents and why this one is very different would be made clear at the hearing

Surely those comments were prejudicial to Mansell's case? To the cynic in me it almost made it sound like it has already been pre-determined

i now expect that any player who pushes another player to be cited and suspended. Has to be that way surely?

Why would you comment on what a Tribunal is going to say without prior knowledge. The inference can be drawn that he was privy to the reasoning of the Tribunal prior to the evidence being heard by the Tribunal.  If this was the case then natural justice has been denied.

[one-eyed]

Yze seeks clarity on what players 'can and can't do' after Mansell ban

Rhyan Mansell's ban for rough conduct has left Richmond coach Adem Yze facing a challenge around how best to instruct his players to approach contests

By AAP
2 April 2025

RICHMOND coach Adem Yze wants more clarity about how his players can approach their forward craft after Rhyan Mansell was handed a three-match ban for rough conduct.

The AFL Tribunal rejected all of the Tigers' arguments in upholding Mansell's suspension on Tuesday night, meaning the 24-year-old forward won't play again until at least round seven.

He was charged after he pushed St Kilda opponent Liam O'Connell into a collision.

O'Connell was concussed and is expected to miss one game.

Yze addressed the incident and fallout before training at Punt Road on Wednesday, adamant there was no malice in Mansell's actions.

"The hardest thing is he would probably do it again if we were training out here today and he's in that same situation where someone's holding him and he wants to get access to wherever the ball is landing," Yze said.

"That's part of forward craft, so we've just got to make sure we can coach them through that now and get that real clear understanding of what they can and can't do.

"That's our job, so yeah, he's disappointed that he can't get out there this weekend and help us rectify the performance we put up last week, which wasn't good enough."

Mansell's ban followed an AFL memo last month that warned players against pushing opponents into marking contests after a spate of incidents.

The Tigers argued it would be inconsistent to ban Mansell, given West Coast player Reuben Ginbey was not charged over a pre-season incident in a marking contest that left Richmond youngster Sam Lalor with a fractured jaw and concussion.

But the Tribunal jury, headed by chair Jeff Gleeson KC, were unmoved.

In handing down the verdict, Gleeson said the Ginbey-Lalor incident was not sufficiently comparable to change their view Mansell was guilty of rough conduct.

The jury found Mansell breached his duty of care with the push on O'Connell, adding the force of the push was a significant factor.

"It's a brutal game and it's a tough game," Yze said ahead of a round four clash with Brisbane on Saturday.

"We're coming up against the No.1 contested team in the competition, last year's premiers, and if we're thinking about how not to put on body contact or how not to be combative ... that's really hard to coach.

"The technique around looking after and protecting other players, I think we're getting better at. But in Mansell's situation he had no idea what he was pushing him into.

"We had a player in Sammy Lalor that got pushed into the same scenario and breaks his jaw.

"If that young kid for West Coast (Ginbey) could see what he was pushing into, that's the type of thing we've got to stamp out."

GWS captain Toby Greene agreed the Ginbey-Lalor incident was a bigger worry than Mansell's push on O'Connell.

"The one in the pre-season was the one that's really dangerous and that's the one they are probably trying to get rid of, whereas this one is maybe a little bit more 50-50," Greene said on Fox Footy.

"I understand still there's an element of danger in what he (Mansell) does, but the one's where they're in close and they push off late, I still think that's reasonable and fair.

"I'm not sure where it goes or what it looks like going forward, but it's one to be mindful of for sure."

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1291336/adem-yze-seeks-clarity-on-what-players-can-and-cant-do-after-rhyan-mansell-ban

[one-eyed]

Richmond great Matthew Richardson calls out AFL for in-season rule change after Rhyan Mansell's ban

Lachlan Harper
Nine
April 3, 2025

Richmond Tigers great Matthew Richardson believes games earlier in the season have been "compromised" after Rhyan Mansell was given a three-match ban

Mansell was punished by the AFL tribunal for shoving St Kilda's Liam O'Connell into a marking contest and the ruling appears to have set a precedent in the future.

Similar incidents have occurred during the pre-season and during the early rounds with calls for the move to be outlawed.

A memo was also sent out to clubs in the pre-season, warning players could be found responsible if injuries occur. O'Connell suffered a heavy concussion from the incident.

Richardson believes the league shouldn't be making changes on the run.

"I didn't think he'd get off because it was pretty clear the AFL wanted to clamp down on it," he told 3AW Radio on Wednesday afternoon.

"The thing with me is we've got to stop changing things during the season because I feel now there were four or five of these incidents that probably could've been suspensions earlier in the year and even in the pre-season.

"It feels like they're compromised now, those games.

"I think if you're going to change rules, you change them at the start of the year and that's it. If you change a rule halfway during the year and then all of a sudden that rule could've effected results earlier in the season, they're compromised for mine."

https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/news-2025-matthew-richardson-comments-rhyan-mansell-suspension-st-kilda-richmond-20250402-p5loo4.html