News Giants in the Media

Remove this Banner Ad


The AFL officially sunk to its lowest point on Tuesday night with the Tribunal changing the fabric of the contest in horror fashion.

Sorry AFL, there’s no defending this. On Tuesday night the AFL Tribunal effectively drove in the final nail on the coffin of tackling within the game.

Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford both fronted the Tribunal in attempts to have their three game bans overturned after both were cited for dangerous tackles. Both men failed and will now sit out for the upcoming three matches. In upholding the rulings handed out by the Match Review Officer, the fabric of the game that we know and love was changed forever.

The AFL instilled a crack down on dangerous tackles with players copping bans for slinging and slamming opponents head-first into the turf. While those moves can be lauded, the MRO and Tribunal have overcorrected to an ugly degree with the outcome now outweighing what unfolds in the heat of the moment.

The rulings on Tuesday night show that tackling, as almost every player has been shown for countless years, is no longer acceptable. Holding onto a player, bringing them to the ground and trying to stop them from being able to dispose of the ball is no longer an option. Players must now do everything within their power while performing a tackle to ensure that their opponent has an arm free and that they’re not being taken to the ground with force.

Effectively, don’t bother tackling.

The AAP’s Oliver Caffrey summed it up amid the flood of backlash among footy fans on social media when he wrote: “A bewildering, game-changing night at the tribunal. The not-so-subtle message now to players is essentially: tackle at your own peril.” The outrage was palpable as everyone from current players to former players and couch experts torched the league for the absurd rulings.

Ahead of the Tribunal hearings players were questioning exactly how they were meant to go about conducting a tackle. Giants star Lachie Whitfield said: “I just don’t know any more what to do. It’s very, very confusing.” Those comments were all but backed up by Lions star Josh Dunkley when he said his teammates play was “the perfect tackle”.

If they were confused beforehand, they’re going to have absolutely no clue now.

The league seem determined to make major changes week in, week out to the game to continually keep not only players, but fans of the game guessing. What they’ve now set in motion after Tuesday night’s Tribunal hearing is that players are going to be second guessing if they should go through with a tackle on an opponent. I can almost guarantee this weekend we’ll see a player wrap their arms around their direct opponent in a tackle before they release their grip and let their rival free.

It’s a new world we find ourselves in with the AFL and it’s one that fans right now can’t and won’t accept.
 
For all his faults, Kane is an ex-player who played the game hard at the highest level. His views are as clear as the AFL Tribunal's are muddy:


Kane Cornes has slammed the AFL Tribunal’s reasoning for upholding Toby Bedford’s three-game suspension following his tackle that concussed Richmond’s Tim Taranto. The Tribunal suggested that Bedford should simply have taken a few extra steps before tackling him or let go of one of his arms during the tackling motion once he realised they were going to ground. The GWS midfielder laughed at the suggestion of the latter during the hearing, saying it all happened too fast for him to consider that.

Cornes agrees, believing the laws of the game are heading down a dangerous path. “This is the laughable part,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast. “That bit where they’ve said it would’ve been possible to tackle him without diving at him and that he could have taken another step – as if he is thinking about that in the moment. He’s thinking about playing on Taranto, Taranto’s got the footy, all you’re thinking about is tackling him and he did that in a reasonable manner that was not careless. This was not a reportable offence. The Tribunal says he could have released the left arm once he started falling. Do you know how quick this was? To think in that moment ‘I’m going to tackle him at speed and then in a split second I’ll release an arm so Tim can brace his fall’."

“Like, it’s absolutely laughable and to anyone who thinks this was the correct decision, sorry, this one is going to do my head in. You can’t not laugh (at the Tribunal’s explanation). When you actually listen to it. You can’t not laugh at what the suggestion is. It comes from someone who has not one bit of feel for the game or what it’s like to be in that situation at the elite level with high stakes where you’re asking someone moving at full speed and all these factors where you wouldn’t have time to reasonably think about it."

“We are always going to have concussive incidents in our game and if it is the result of someone who has done their due diligence and laid a perfectly legal tackle, then they should have no case to answer.”
 
Appears we are considering appealing. Posting in this thread also as it covers a range of views on the topic.


‘Change needed’: Lions, Giants consider appeals as tackle bans cause confusion, frustration

By Marnie Vinall and Oliver Caffrey
Updated July 17, 2024 — 10.40am

The Brisbane Lions and GWS will consider heading to the appeals board after the AFL tribunal upheld three-game bans to Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford for dangerous tackling.

The suspensions imposed by the match review officer and confirmed by the tribunal, have sparked outrage and confusion from many AFL pundits.

Former Brisbane Lions champion Jonathan Brown questioned what else Bedford was meant to do, arguing he pursued his opponent in act that would have been legal in the game for the best part of 100 years.

“It’s getting into troubling territory for me, and that’s really concerning – I think we’re now starting to eat into the fabric of the game. Yes, I feel bad for Tim Taranto; we don’t want players to get injured, but we are starting to eat into the fabric of the game,” Brown said on Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday night.

“You know what I’m telling them? I’m telling (Bedford): ‘Mate, don’t pursue it, don’t tackle in that situation – I’d rather have you playing for us instead of missing next three weeks’.

“Concussion crusaders, be careful what you wish for.

“We are heading down the wrong path, we’ve done an amazing job, don’t get me wrong and I want our players to be safe, but I want our game still to be our great game. And if we keep continuing on this path, I’m concerned.”

Two-time Sydney Swans premiership player Jude Bolton said players were being punished for being physical in contested situations.

“The MRO has the lever of the ‘potential to cause injury’. This should be then used when players get it wrong, or an incident is deemed excessive/ terrible. Choose then to throw the book at them & make a statement,” Bolton expressed via X.

“The current guidelines need to change. Concussions can sadly occur ... I would rather raise the threshold for a suspension, (meaning less players are rubbed out) & come down harder on those incidents that are not footy acts.”

Toby Bedord, of the GWS Giants, also had his suspension upheld.

On a marathon night at the tribunal on Tuesday, Lions star Cameron was unsuccessful in overturning his rough conduct charge against West Coast co-captain Liam Duggan.

Following the Cameron case, Bedford was also unable to downgrade his ban after tackling Richmond star Tim Taranto during the Giants’ win at the MCG on Sunday.

During both hearings, the AFL’s lawyer Lisa Hannon argued Cameron and Bedford should have released the arms of their opponents and been more careful when tackling.

“The fact Cameron’s foot may’ve become entangled with Duggan’s was entirely foreseeable and not an exceptional circumstance in a close up tackle,” said Hannon, who also told Bedford he should have acted in similar fashion.

The Lions and GWS will decide on Wednesday whether to challenge the verdicts at the AFL appeals board.

Given the strong reaction from past and current players to the bans, both clubs will give serious consideration to contesting.

Cameron’s Lions teammate Josh Dunkley and Bedford’s Giants captain Toby Greene both expressed their bewilderment at the respective suspensions.

“When I first saw it, I was standing next to (Richmond’s) Nathan Broad and having a discussion about it, we saw the replay and thought if Tim’s concussed then they might give it a week, and then you’d probably challenge it,” Greene told Fox Footy on Tuesday night.

The tackle that resulted in Charlie Cameron’s suspension.

“Once he got three weeks, it doesn’t seem right to me, he’s making a legitimate play.

“I feel like this is overstepping the mark. This is a tackle that you’re going to see in AFL footy for the next 50 years. If you eradicate this, you’re just going to have to tackle standing up.”

Last week, Sydney unsuccessfully appealed against the one-game striking ban that ruled their star midfielder Isaac Heeney out of Brownlow Medal contention.

Under AFL rules, the Lions and GWS could argue there was an error of law during the tribunal hearing, that the decision was unreasonable or that the classification of the offence or sanction imposed were manifestly excessive.

Cameron will miss crucial games against ladder-leaders Sydney, Gold Coast and St Kilda as the Lions – last year’s grand finalists – who have won six-straight games, surge to try and secure a top-four berth.

Bedford will miss GWS’s matches against Gold Coast, Melbourne and Hawthorn.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Appears we are considering appealing. Posting in this thread also as it covers a range of views on the topic.

Probably a good idea to appeal to make this as painful as possible for the AFL.
 
Although it seems Kingsley has asked Buckley to play in our Brisbane match, and not see his partner run at the Olympics, it seems the matter is still not finalised. Will be interesting if Buckley’s partner qualifies for the final. I personally think Buckley should go as it’s a once in a lifetime chance to see his partner perform at her profession’s peak event, even though it will be detrimental to our team for that Brisbane match.

Buckley also said he is getting a bit of heat from Mucci, but didn’t entirely rule out making a last-minute trip.

“I’m getting a lot of flak around it but, unfortunately, it is out of my hands, although we will see,” he said.

“It is very unlikely and I’m also scared to ask him again as you could imagine.”


 
Is she any good?
It's a huge effort to watch someone finish 9th in the heats.
she's at the olympics in track and field. That makes you awesome by any measure.

She is not expected to advance past the heats. But in the track events, everyone is good, so everyone has a chance to move through a little way
 

Comedians vs sticklers: Heeney-Greene feud proves Sydney’s AFL rivalry has come of age

By Vince Rugari
July 19, 2024 — 11.00am

It’s been dubbed the worst AFL fixture of the modern era. And to the long list of complaints already made about the structure of season 2024 – the Opening Round malarkey and its impact on byes, the sudden abandonment of Thursday night footy, the absurdity of some teams facing each other twice before facing others once – we can add one more.
It has robbed us of maybe the best Sydney derby ever.

Imagine if the Swans and Giants were playing this weekend? You couldn’t miss it. It might happen soon, if their paths cross in September – but if not, since they’ve already played two derbies this year (in the space of just seven rounds; go figure), we’ll have to wait a minimum of nine months to see the simmering tensions between the two clubs manifest on the field.

In the past, the rivalry between the city’s two AFL clubs has felt either too confected or too collegiate, as if their mutual respect and common goal of growing the game in NSW overwhelmed whichever receptors in the brain are responsible for fostering hatred. There have been hints of genuine dislike here and there, the whole Lance Franklin recruitment imbroglio, and plenty of hotly contested games (and finals), but nothing strong enough to draw in the neutral or take over the discourse.

Until now.

We have a bona fide feud, ladies and gentlemen, between Isaac Heeney and Toby Greene, arguably the two faces of AFL in Sydney in the post-Buddy era.

They are, to a large degree, representative of their clubs: one is prim and proper, possibly too much so, the other a serial troublemaker who should probably rein it in from time to time.

For those of you who missed it: Heeney was controversially suspended last week for striking an opponent in the face while trying to take a mark, and his appeal to overturn the ban was dismissed. As a result, Heeney was ruled out of contention for the Brownlow Medal, having previously been one of the hot favourites to win it.
Advertisement

The Swans released a short video of Heeney after the appeal saying he was “pretty shattered” and giving thanks to everyone who supported him. It was widely ridiculed as overly earnest and completely unnecessary; Kane Cornes described it as “nonsense” and said it was a massive overreaction. Indeed, some rightly aggrieved Swans nuffies carried on as if Heeney were the victim of a political assassination. (Yes, there was even a ‘FREE HEENEY’ sign at the SCG last weekend. He also got clapped as he walked the boundary.)

Greene, at this point, joined in on the fun. The Giants released their own mimicry of the Heeney video, filming their captain sarcastically apologising for getting fined again over the weekend. No great surprise for anyone who has perused their socials; the Giants have become an antagonistic, banter-iffic meme machine, finding a voice that has helped them cut through the noise of the Sydney market and the insular nature of the AFL fishbowl. They’ve taken the piss out of Mason Cox (remember the petting zoo in Opening Round?), Ken Hinkley (they did a Barbie thing ... Ken, get it?) and even John Longmire (for mispronouncing ‘Coniglio’), which ruffled a few red-and-white feathers.

Heeney was an obvious target, even if taking aim at him felt a bit like needlessly inserting themselves into someone else’s affairs.

Safe to say that their latest masterpiece didn’t land well at Swans HQ. Heeney was legitimately furious, and Sydney’s chief executive Tom Harley would go on to describe the video as “pretty crude” and “low brow”, saying: “I wouldn’t have done it.” Cue more criticism of the Swans’ prudish culture and inability to take a joke.

On Wednesday, Heeney and Greene buried the hatchet. Publicly, at least. They are also business partners, as it turns out, who run footy clinics for kids under the ‘5th Quarter Camps’ brand, and as they held one at Tramway Oval, across the road from the SCG, they posed for photos of Heeney jokingly holding his fist as if he’s about to punch Greene in retaliation.

“He’s awesome, we’re great mates,” Heeney said, evoking the vibe of The Simpsons’ Waylon Smithers holding a gun to Tom Jones’ back, forcing him to wave and smile at Marge.

“So, no love lost there. I’ve just got ammo now. We’ll keep focusing on being on top of the ladder, they can keep focusing on being comedians.”

The media opportunity wasn’t sanctioned by the Swans, who would have preferred to move on from the whole topic and not given it any further oxygen.

And while we’ll take Heeney at his word that his friendship with Greene is still intact, the real measure will be the next time there’s a Sydney derby. That’ll be a fun week, on and off the field. We’ll see who gets fined or suspended then.
As we wait for that, it’s worth appreciating that the two clubs have organically developed diametrically opposing identities.

The Swans are the smug sticklers from the top end of town who sometimes take themselves too seriously, the Giants are a pack of jokers from out west who maybe don’t take themselves seriously enough.

They should have disagreements like this more often. It’s good for footy in NSW.
 
The morons in VFL House have doubled down on the original MRO & Tribunal rulings in regards the Charlie Cameron & Toby Bedford tackles!


The AFL recognised the Appeal Board's decision but indicated it would look to change the system at season's end. However, the AFL maintains both Cameron's and Bedford's tackles were examples of dangerous tackles.

"In the AFL’s view (shared by the independent AFL Tribunal on Tuesday) the tackles by Cameron and Bedford were dangerous tackles, principally because both of the tackled players had their arms pinned (resulting in vulnerability) and were additionally brought to ground with excessive force," the League said in a statement on Friday afternoon. But we accept the Appeal Board’s decisions, albeit that they were made on a legal technicality involving a perceived technical deficiency in the Tribunal’s reasons. The AFL will reflect on those reasons and will address the deficiency in the conduct of further Tribunal hearings this season. The AFL will also review the system at the end of the season, as we do every year."


Time for the clubs to close ranks and revolt against these morons.
 
The morons in VFL House have doubled down on the original MRO & Tribunal rulings in regards the Charlie Cameron & Toby Bedford tackles!


The AFL recognised the Appeal Board's decision but indicated it would look to change the system at season's end. However, the AFL maintains both Cameron's and Bedford's tackles were examples of dangerous tackles.

"In the AFL’s view (shared by the independent AFL Tribunal on Tuesday) the tackles by Cameron and Bedford were dangerous tackles, principally because both of the tackled players had their arms pinned (resulting in vulnerability) and were additionally brought to ground with excessive force," the League said in a statement on Friday afternoon. But we accept the Appeal Board’s decisions, albeit that they were made on a legal technicality involving a perceived technical deficiency in the Tribunal’s reasons. The AFL will reflect on those reasons and will address the deficiency in the conduct of further Tribunal hearings this season. The AFL will also review the system at the end of the season, as we do every year."


Time for the clubs to close ranks and revolt against these morons.
They are so sh*t scared about the concussion aspect they have painted themselves in a corner.
 
Love this guy :)

Giants midfielder Tom Green has unloaded on the crackdown on tackling by the AFL match review officer and tribunal, labelling it as a “disgrace” and that the league “is protecting themselves from a lawsuit in 30 years”.
On this week’s episode of in-house GWS podcast In the Green Room, which has since been deleted, Green expressed concern about the impact of the crackdown - saying it was“ruining the game”.

The comments came prior to the Giants successfully appealing Toby Bedford’s controversial three-match ban for his tackle on Richmond midfielder Tim Taranto.

Green, also an AFL Players Association representative and leadership team member for the Giants, said there was something wrong when Port Adelaide star Zak Butters ultimately missed no games for striking him in Round 14 yet Bedford copped a three-match ban for a tackle that was “non-dirty”.

“The general uproar and consensus around the Toby Bedford decision is that it is a disgrace and I couldn’t agree more,” he said on the since-deleted In The Green Room podcast.

“I don’t know if the Tribunal has finally admitted that it is so outcome based but what is a better look for the game? Here is the reality of it, Zak Butters a couple of weeks ago deliberately punched me in the face, which again I don’t want to see him necessarily miss a game for that.

“But in terms of intent and a bad look for the game, Zak Butters punched me in the face and didn’t miss any games.

“(But if I was concussed), I don’t know is he going to miss six weeks because he has punched me in the face and concussed me but Toby Bedford is missing three weeks for committing an in-game, proper, non-dirty, football act and gets three weeks because Tim (Taranto) was concussed.

“I just think there has to be an understanding that we play a contact sport.

“I don’t know what I can and can’t do, am I allowed to punch someone and I am able to get off? Because apparently I can but if I tackle someone and they get concussed I get weeks.

“And I get we have to look after concussions and all this but I feel like the AFL is protecting themselves from a lawsuit in 30 years.”

Green said players understood the risk they took playing the game.

“We are changing the game from what it is, we play a contact sport,” he said.

“One of the reasons why I love playing this game is because it is contact. One of the reasons why people love watching this game is because it is contact.

“OzTag is not a massively viewed sport is it? Touch footy is not a massively viewed sport is it? It is because of the collision and the physical nature of it and the combative sport that we play and the Tribunal is taking it away in a weird way.

“Because you are allowed to punch people and as long as you don’t really hurt them that is fine but that is a way worse look, deliberately hurting people. But if I tackle someone and they accidentally hit their head I miss nearly a month of football? It just doesn’t make sense.”

More here Code Sports
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

GWS star Jack Buckley confirms he won’t be going to Paris to watch partner Celeste Mucci

LACHLAN MCKIRDY

22 June 2024

News Sport Network

Giants defender Jack Buckley confirmed he’s looking forward to watching the Paris Olympics from his couch as he set the record straight on any notion of a mid-season European sojourn.

Buckley jokingly commented on radio last week that he would talk with coach Adam Kingsley about getting some time off to watch his girlfriend, Australian hurdler Celeste Mucci, compete at the Olympics.

However, he quickly found himself in the headlines with suggestions that he was ready to take a week off in the run-home to watch Mucci.

The key defender clarified his position on Monday and confirmed that he never intended to head to Paris.

“That got blown out of proportion a little bit,” Buckley said. “I was just doing an interview and it was all a bit tongue-in-cheek … the quote looked more serious than I meant it.

“I actually never asked Kingers to go to Paris. So, my priority is to help this team make finals and play well towards the end of the year. So I’ll be here, I’ll be playing. That’s what I want to do.

“Equally, in a perfect world, it would be great if I could go and support. But she gets it more than anyone that I need to be here and play footy.

“I’ll be cheering on very hard from the couch. And hopefully, it doesn’t overshadow how good a story it was her qualifying. I’m very proud of her and very excited to watch her.”

Kingsley suggested last week that there could be a watch party organised at Giants HQ to watch Mucci compete.

The former heptathlete will make her Olympic debut in Paris in the 100m hurdles, overcoming a ruptured tendon in her hamstring to take her place on the start line.

“I’m really looking forward to the Olympics and particularly Celeste competing in the 100-meter hurdles,” Kingsley said.

“The heat is 6:15pm, Wednesday afternoon, 7th of August, that’s Wednesday morning in Paris. So yeah, we won’t need to get up too early to watch the heat, maybe the final if she’s good enough to make it and we’ve got our fingers crossed.”
 
GWS star Jack Buckley confirms he won’t be going to Paris to watch partner Celeste Mucci

LACHLAN MCKIRDY

22 June 2024

News Sport Network

Giants defender Jack Buckley confirmed he’s looking forward to watching the Paris Olympics from his couch as he set the record straight on any notion of a mid-season European sojourn.

Buckley jokingly commented on radio last week that he would talk with coach Adam Kingsley about getting some time off to watch his girlfriend, Australian hurdler Celeste Mucci, compete at the Olympics.

However, he quickly found himself in the headlines with suggestions that he was ready to take a week off in the run-home to watch Mucci.

The key defender clarified his position on Monday and confirmed that he never intended to head to Paris.

“That got blown out of proportion a little bit,” Buckley said. “I was just doing an interview and it was all a bit tongue-in-cheek … the quote looked more serious than I meant it.

“I actually never asked Kingers to go to Paris. So, my priority is to help this team make finals and play well towards the end of the year. So I’ll be here, I’ll be playing. That’s what I want to do.

“Equally, in a perfect world, it would be great if I could go and support. But she gets it more than anyone that I need to be here and play footy.

“I’ll be cheering on very hard from the couch. And hopefully, it doesn’t overshadow how good a story it was her qualifying. I’m very proud of her and very excited to watch her.”

Kingsley suggested last week that there could be a watch party organised at Giants HQ to watch Mucci compete.

The former heptathlete will make her Olympic debut in Paris in the 100m hurdles, overcoming a ruptured tendon in her hamstring to take her place on the start line.

“I’m really looking forward to the Olympics and particularly Celeste competing in the 100-meter hurdles,” Kingsley said.

“The heat is 6:15pm, Wednesday afternoon, 7th of August, that’s Wednesday morning in Paris. So yeah, we won’t need to get up too early to watch the heat, maybe the final if she’s good enough to make it and we’ve got our fingers crossed.”
Hello father son/daughter!!
 
Hello father son/daughter!!
I've said this before, my 6 yo daughter suggested the Giants players marry the Giants netballers and woman's players so they would have kids that would be great players
 
Smacks of eugenics .... it has my vote of apporval
I'm not suggesting a full-blown breeding program, but put them in the same places and let nature take its course
 
It’s self-evident to everyone on this Board, but good to see Robbo and Gerard on 360 both agree that Hogan is “an absolute lock” for All-Australian.

Would love to see him do the awards double by icing the Coleman in the final round away to the Poodles.

Shoutout to Mummy the Mentor who’s both tutored Briggs and took Hogan into his home on his arrival in Sydney.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
I'm not suggesting a full-blown breeding program, but put them in the same places and let nature take its course
You're making me think they're bacteria!
 

Remove this Banner Ad

News Giants in the Media

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top