Whitecross offered a week for having Selwood run into his shoulder

[Timmy from Thomastown]

How can you say that with such certainty? I personally think a tackle would most likely have stuck. But the play had stopped anyway.

It was the wrong angle to lay an effective legal tackle.

 

[True Blue Cat]

I have to say that i did expect it. If he had of got up and went for the tackle or such he would have been fine but he put his shoulder forward and then moved forward. I'm not saying that his intention was to cause damage but with the rules these days there was no way it was going to be overlooked.

 

[QuietB]

I agree. High contact is high contact, whether its accidental or not.

Gibson copped an accidental boot in the eye and went off with the blood rule. To the letter of the law he should get a free kick........high contact.

This is the problem with our rules. To many contradictions and grey areas.

That is plainly incorrect. When Jordan Lewis got knocked out in that marking contest against the bulldogs a few years ago it was not a free kick (neither should it have been). A head clash is not a free kick. You dont get a free kick for high contact when you headbutt someone. WTF is Whitecross expected to do?

 

[Noobz0r]

It seems to me that a lot of people in here have only been watching the incident in slow motion... Makes it look like a deliberate decision to hit the the head when in reality he onlynhad a split second to react and the contact was incidental.

Selwood was running full pace and Whitecross only had time to stand up and brace for impact, which unfortunately meant his shoulder was in that position. There was no time for him to get into any sort of position to tackle him, and just letting him go was obviously not an optoin.

 

[klutch]

If it was a choice between head high contact, and letting a player past, yes.

But in this case he certainly didn't have to lead with his shoulder in the bump. Could have even tackled.

There is less than 2 seconds between whitecross standing up and then he and selwood being on the ground again, all whitecross could do was brace himself for contact

 

[Boxhead_31]

This is the MRP that suspended a guy last year for a head clash. Apparently mutual high contact is actionable on just one side. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/05/2891361.htm?site=sport&section=afl

Having got that off my chest (again), I thought it was likely to be a week out when watching the game. Whitecross leads with the shoulder, he makes accidental contact to the head, but given appearance of the action (putting the shoulder into a situation where it will contact the player) and the result (contact with the head) it fits with what the MRP has been targetting for years.

Thank you and goodnight
/thread

 

[Bingle_21]

That is plainly incorrect. When Jordan Lewis got knocked out in that marking contest against the bulldogs a few years ago it was not a free kick (neither should it have been). A head clash is not a free kick. You dont get a free kick for high contact when you headbutt someone. WTF is Whitecross expected to do?[/quote]

Clearly he is meant to half get up and lead with his head and launch into Selwood so that Selwood gets suspended for head contact. The AFL seems to want to reward blokes for that these days.

EDIT: Not suggesting this is what Selwood did. Just seems to be a lot of blokes diving in Head first solely to draw the free with no Duty of Care to themselves.

 

[bradrowe#32]

Disgraceful decision.

 

[randyzany]

There is less than 2 seconds between whitecross standing up and then he and selwood being on the ground again, all whitecross could do was brace himself for contact

If getting up was all Whitecross was doing Selwood would comfortably have gone past him.

From the replay you can see Whitecross throwing himself to his right (with a leading elbow to boot) to stop Selwood dead in his tracks.

Disgraceful.

 

[Andrew Mc]

Technically I understand why the MRP had to refer this. Its not up to them to judge whether Whitecross had any alternative.

Will be a very interesting test case to see if you can be suspended for holding your ground when somebody dives at you head first.

I agree with this point of view. Although I don't think he should get any weeks, it didn't surprise me in the least that he was cited. The MRP and judiciary are 2 different entities doing 2 different jobs. Let's see how it pans out (I hope the Hawks challenge this). I don't think that Selwood dived into him btw - it was plain and simple as the umpire on the field called it - an accident.

 

[red+black]

To those suggesting a tackle should be laid on a player running full pelt, I'd love to try something with you. You stand still. I will come running at full speed towards you (I'm not the lighest fellow). You open your arms to lay a tackle. I charge into your chest. Then we'll determine if attempting to lay a tackle was the best course of action. The sensible course of action for both players is to turn side on and dip the shoulder, to slow one or both players down, then to lay a tackle. However some players have a habit, consciously or otherwise, of leading with their head.

 

[IllBeTheJudge]

Whether it's accidental or not is irrelevant when it comes to whether a free kick should be paid or not, and indeed whether a charge is laid or not. Otherwise every reportable offense has to be graded as Intentional

But really, if it takes super slow mo to decide whether Whitecross could have avoided contact, then it's clear he had no other course of action. Anyone who watches it at full speed can see that there is no way there was anything else Whitecross could have done

By the time he stood up, Selwood ran into him. He didn't have time to think about laying a tackle, let alone apply an effective one

Challenge
Challenge
Challenge

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Based on all these head-high suspensions of the past couple of years, I’m still trying to work out how Luke McPharlin wasn’t cited last year for his collision with Jonathan Brown which resulted in multiple facial fractures for Brown.

I don’t think he should have been, but nobody is able to explain why he wasn’t when you contrast it with other charges the MRP has come up with.

 

[IllBeTheJudge]

If getting up was all Whitecross was doing Selwood would comfortably have gone past him.

From the replay you can see Whitecross throwing himself to his right (with a leading elbow to boot) to stop Selwood dead in his tracks.

Disgraceful.

Did you video your own interpretive dance of this incident or something?

 

[winty]

I agree with this point of view. Although I don't think he should get any weeks, it didn't surprise me in the least that he was cited. The MRP and judiciary are 2 different entities doing 2 different jobs. Let's see how it pans out (I hope the Hawks challenge this). I don't think that Selwood dived into him btw - it was plain and simple as the umpire on the field called it - an accident.

Agree totally. It was an accident.

I thought Osborne's swinging arm on Kelly just after he'd disposed of the ball was worse than what Whitecross did, and to a lesser extent Schoenmaker's attempted "spoil" on Hawkins, but it seems like they weren't even looked at.

Hope the Hawks appeal and Whitecross gets off. Appalling decision to charge him for that.

 

[BigAl3001]

If getting up was all Whitecross was doing Selwood would comfortably have gone past him.

From the replay you can see Whitecross throwing himself to his right (with a leading elbow to boot) to stop Selwood dead in his tracks.

Disgraceful.

Nobody is questioning Sellwood's character or courage in relation to this incident. Somehow you have made this a personal vendetta against the HFC and Whitecross where 99% of your fellow cats supporters can see if for what is so obviously is - an accident occuring in the heat of battle at the critical stage of a ferocious contest between two quality sides.

What is also disturbing is that this casts aspersions upon Brendan Whitecross's character and his good record of being a ball player.

 

[markm106]

Ridiculous by MRP. obviously accidental contact.

 

[WowsersTrousers]

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Worst decision ever. Ever. Whitecross gets done for literally standing near the play. I hate hawthorn but this is just ridiculous.

 

[Thommo 42]

The more I watch it, the more I "get" the suspension under the current rules.
Watch Whitecross as he gets up from the ground prior to contact.
He steps into Selwood's path (correctly) but chooses to shoulder charge, not tackle. Therefore it's viewed as negligent/careless. Head high contact means he has to be charged.
I'm not saying I agree with it, and I bet London to a Brick that Selwood would argue it was all just a part of footy, but that is how the MRP interpret the rules these days.
Any head-high contact these days and you are in deep trouble.

he doesn't choose shit, it just happens.

Watch the youtube video, particularly the opening bit in real time. He is barely on his feet before impact is made. It happens in about a hundredth of a second ffs.

If you play the video in super-super-super-slow-motion, even pause it a couple times, you can clearly see that Whitecross had an absolute eternity to decide what to do. When I slowed it down, he had at least 20 seconds to have a Kit Kat then get back to a pre-meditated potentially-life-threatening shoulder charge. He should hang.

Nailed it. I slowed it down so much I drank a coffee and wrote an e-mail while Whitecross was deciding whether or not to smash Selwoods face in with his shoulder, despite having just earnt a free kick himself at a crucial moment in the game.

THIS!

[youtube]Nq0BvzidpYE[/youtube]

Between the 18 and 21 second marks of this footage it's clear as day Whitecross lines him up.

Whitecross was getting up but then he sees Selwood out of the corner of his eye run past him and instantly decides to stop him by launching himself at him, with elbow to boot.

Between 18 and 21 seconds is about 1/100th of a second in real time. Watch the video at the start in real time.

Relying on slow mo is like watching a bloke shank a kick oob in slow mo and declaring that he clearly decided to skew it off the side of the boot as he had an eternity to see that his ball drop was off by a little and should have adjusted.

 

[BarneyBent]

Eh. Whitecross dropped the shoulder. Not much he could do, but in theory he could have gotten lower and targeted Selwood's hips. I don't like it, but I can see where the MRP is coming from.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

How on earth is anybody meant to oppose Selwood? He leads with his head the entire time, it’s what he does!

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

THIS!

[youtube]Nq0BvzidpYE[/youtube]

Between the 18 and 21 second marks of this footage it's clear as day Whitecross lines him up.

Whitecross was getting up but then he sees Selwood out of the corner of his eye run past him and instantly decides to stop him by launching himself at him, with elbow to boot.

MEMO: To You and any other MRP, AFL observer.


THE GAME IS NOT PLAYED IN SLOW MOTION.

 

[mick06]

'i make no apologies for protecting the ball players head'

Im sure this line will come out from demetriou.

Nothing malicious from whitecross at all, the guy was simply getting u off the ground and selwood was there so he went to bump him. People saying he went with his elbow....not sure if serious it is clearly tucked in and then he pushes up after contact

 

[darcytiger]

Disgrace.