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The AFL’s senior counsel Andrew Dillon can appeal a decision on the basis “an error of law has occurred” or “the decision of the tribunal is so unreasonable that no tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it”.
The tribunal’s decision was consistent with Geelong coach Chris Scott’s assessment of the two contentious cases the tribunal heard on Tuesday night.
He said the Rioli incident was nuanced, with players entitled to attempt to mark if the ball is coming towards them.
“Rowell was running back with the flight of the ball and the game doesn’t afford you much protection when that happened. If you make front-on contact to someone in a marking contest running back with the flight of the ball you’re the one that is liable,” Scott said.
“What we instruct our players in a marking contest if you are coming towards the ball, or the ball is coming towards you, you have right of way, and you can attack that ball as hard as you like … the challenge is once you are in the air, and you are slightly second to the ball, what do you do from there? You do have a duty of care, but sometimes contact is inevitable.”
Although he did not comment on the decision relating to Mitch Robinson, specifically, Scott said players owed a greater duty of care to their opponents when contesting ground balls.
He said the days of criticising a player for not going hard enough at a ground-level ball are over as the AFL attempts to protect players with their head over a loose ball.
He said the decision to suspend Brisbane Lion Mitch Robinson for bumping Port Adelaide’s Xavier Duursma revealed the direction the game was heading.
“What the AFL are saying to us [about ground balls] is that if you stop, keep your feet especially, and almost look like you pull out of that contest to protect the opponent’s head who is over the ball, then that is going to be OK and the rest of the football world has got to get on board with that,” Scott said.
“The days of saying ‘this guy didn’t go hard enough at the ground-level ball’ are over, especially from a coaching perspective.”
Scott said there were technical elements players had to learn to ensure they protected themselves and their opponents while still attacking the ball.
Robinson took to social media to express his disappointment at the decision which split observers given the likelihood of serious injury was high.
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AFL won’t appeal Rioli decision despite disappointment with the outcome
Source: Philippines Alive
