AFL Player # 7: Indefatigable Zach Merrett (c) - 5 time Crichton Medallist! 🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2027
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 10, I Remember Bluey

 

[Lore]

Herald Sun running with wanting Zac suspended

Yeah here's Will Day, pinning both of Close's arms, lifting him off the floor and slinging Close's head into the ground:



And here's Gary Rohan, pinning both arms, swinging himself around CJ such that CJ was entirely at his mercy, and then landing his feet and using it to push off, slinging CJ's head into the ground:



Both incidents in the videos here:

Hawks, Cats head to Tribunal to challenge suspensions

Hawthorn will attempt to reduce Will Day's two-match ban, while Geelong is hoping to free Gary Rohan

www.afl.com.au

 

[Squeaky]

Christian rubbing his hands together
Dons player
Pies up next

We shouldn't think like this, but it's hard not to.
The only consistent thing about Christian has been his inconsistency...

 

[andleanback]

I reckon they’ll give him 1 and we’ll fight it

 

[Lore]

And here's Zach's from the 2nd angle in the twitter clip Kyp posted above.

Zach catches him high around the back of the neck, Demon hugs the ball in close with one arm and attempts to fend off, which fails. Zach keeps one arm on the top of the bloke's left shoulder, other arm comes around his back while the right arm of the Dees player comes through and tries to elbow Zach in the solar plexus because his arms aren't pinned.

Actually looks like the Dees player pushes off with his grounded foot after that, Zach's legs are already fully extended at that point and he pulls back with his upper body (more obvious in the other angle). Dee lands on top of Zach's arm too.

 

[Mercurial89]

More a dump than a sling.

I think if they are being strong on concussion and dangerous tackles it should be a week.

I don't want that to be the case but I also want some consistency.

 

[Nuggs Bunny]

Should have been a free for the initial high and that's it. Arms aren't pinned, didn't lift him up, contact wasn't head first and it looked like he fell on Merrett rather than being driven into the ground. If that's a dangerous tackle I'm not sure how you're supposed to tackle somebody anymore.

 

[ant555]

I reckon they’ll give him 1 and we’ll fight it

Yep . Think that will be the scenario.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Why are the media going after Zac for such a benign tackle?

 

[windyhill]

One week, Bombers appeal, downgraded to a fine.

 

[carnthedons]

Why are the media going after Zac for such a benign tackle?

Because Essendon generates clicks (and I presume physical paper sales, I believe that’s still a thing)

 

[Stopher]

Just spitballing a bit, but does the whistle going a split second before he takes him to ground become a factor? So the tackled player potentially relaxed a fraction before Zach, offering less resistance at the critical moment.

 

[quotemokc]

Fox footy just referred to it as a sling tackle.

 

[Squeaky]

Load of shit.

 

[Dave]

I don’t think Day deserved anything nor does this but it’s hard to see him not copping a week based on the precedent that is now set

Day pinned both of Close’s arms. Zach didn’t.

 

[rumply]

Jon Ralph reckons Zac gets a week

 

[Lore]

AFL website has zero interest in it, not mentioned on any of the videos, press conference, interviews, write ups. I even suffered through a Kane Cornes/Riley Beveridge video and they didn't comment on it at all.

 

[VelvetSledge]

Ugh. If that’s a tackle then I give up

 

[Lore]

Here's a couple of actually dangerous tackles

 

[scythe]

Lmao **** all the way off, that's just football. Perfectly decent tackle.

It probably bodes well for him that I didn't even realise what everyone was talking about until I watched the clip.

 

[rumply]

Wouldn't Christian have made his decision by now? He has been quick with these things so far this season, no?

 

[Megabattimus]

Whole thing just feels like a beat up that they're running with because we won. No way it gets mentioned if we lost like everyone expected.

Wouldn't generate the traffic it's probably doing without the "it was a great win but" framing.

On SM-G920I using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Squeaky]

Jon Ralph reckons Zac gets a

Wouldn't Christian have made his decision by now? He has been quick with these things so far this season, no?

He's just running it by Jeff Browne and Craig McRae now...

 

[Lore]

Wouldn't Christian have made his decision by now? He has been quick with these things so far this season, no?

You'd hope so but they haven't announced the Friday night MRO stuff yet, including this kicking in danger thing from Shai Bolton that the talking heads reckon deserves a couple of weeks:

“He’ll get no benefit of the doubt”: Bolton to face MRO wrath for “awful” incident

“However this is graded is what he’s going to serve. (In) my personal view, he’ll serve two (weeks).”

www.sen.com.au

If you go to the AFL website and go to the news section, there's a sub-section of just Tribunal & MRO stuff where it should come up. There's usually one article for a whole day worth of games, but you only get an article if the MRO assessed at least one incident as being reportable out of all games that day. Nothing for Friday or Saturday yet.

 

[ghostdog]

Should have been a free for the initial high and that's it. Arms aren't pinned, didn't lift him up, contact wasn't head first and it looked like he fell on Merrett rather than being driven into the ground. If that's a dangerous tackle I'm not sure how you're supposed to tackle somebody anymore.

Agree. You can see in the slow-mo thst Merrett ends up underneath the player. Merrett's shoulder takes the bulk of the impact. He's not slung at all.

 

[Call Me Cake]

The Skip hit the ground first and if you look it closely you can see that he cushioned him on the way down with his own body.