Stafford triumphs at tribunal
The Australian
August 1, 2006
RICHMOND ruckman Greg Stafford expressed relief tonight that the AFL remained a collision sport after his successful visit to the tribunal.
But earlier today, his coach Terry Wallace called on the league to give clearer guidelines on its definition of acceptable contact in the game.
The Tigers enjoyed a successful night at the tribunal, with Stafford cleared of his rough conduct charge and Andrew Raines remaining eligible for the Rising Star award.
Stafford is now free to play his 200th senior game this Saturday against the Western Bulldogs, a must-win assignment for Richmond if it is to keep its slight finals hopes alive.
Earlier the Tigers accepted Troy Simmonds' one-match ban for striking.
"I'm very happy with the result and just glad we're still playing a collision sport as opposed to a contact sport – that was perhaps the way it was going," Stafford said.
"In the context of our season, where we're at and what the game means, (that) means more to me than 200 games."
Stafford collided heavily with Saints defender Brendon Goddard last Saturday as the ball landed between them.
Richmond produced as evidence timed video footage of the incident, which showed Stafford had just five tenths of a second to react once he saw Goddard.
"I rolled my shoulder to protect myself – I was through the contact before I knew it, it was a blur," Stafford said in evidence.
Under cross-examination, Stafford said every player had been taught "since you're knee-high to a grasshopper" to protect himself and go in hard for the ball.<> "What we saw in this incident, there is a clear message that we no longer have a collision sport, we have a contact sport," he argued.
"We would like the AFL to give a stronger determination of what are the options a player has when those circumstances occur."
Raines meanwhile pleaded guilty to tripping Aaron Fiora, but successfully argued it was reckless rather than intentional and escaped with a reprimand.
It also reduced his initial activation points from 125 to 75 – anything above 100 makes a player ineligible for the Rising Star and the Brownlow Medal.
Raines said the main reason he contested the classification of the charge was not to protect his Rising Star eligibility, but because he felt it was not intentional.
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