1 hour ago, Older demon said:

Cunnington's was NOT a jumper punch. It was a punch to the guts and the MRP get out was to grade it low impact. Someone please do an experiment and deliver the same blow to Jimmy Bartel and Nathan Burke in the street. You would be charged with assault in an instant.

I hope McLachlin is true to his word and does something as punching is not a good look. Condoning punches to the abdomen is unacceptable

So a 'Jumper' is now a euphemism for the guts, or the belly or the midriff. Must remember that next time my beloved Missus Monica points to my stupendous belly.

It's just a flucking jumper, I'll say, what's the problem? 

4 hours ago, beelzebub said:

If not an appeal id just love the club to at least grow some and give out a few 'veiled' comments directed directly at the league and its lackeys.

This is just utter bullshlt (again ) 

Exactly. In fact in this instance I wouldn't be veiled about it. The MRP are a sick joke and we are their vomit.

The MRP are a joke.  grab the jumper, and strike your opponent however you want.  This is an absolute disgrace.  Scott and Norf are [censored] [censored] [censored] [censored] [censored] [censored].

5 minutes ago, Sigil said:

Sorry, I disagree with you.

I don't accept that a Media campaign that get's the blood up, back page News!! that makes us feel better about what happened on the weekend is the best way for the club to approach their duty of care.

It's boring for us because we won't know about it, but if the club sees it as an issue, it will be addressed.

I totally agree with you because that's not what I'm talking about at all.

I'm talking measured, careful, and driven by our duty of care to our players being our priority.

So grabbing the jumper of someone without the ball is holding the man.  Striking them above the collar bones blades is high contact.  The maggots have always had the ability to intervene, but they are weak [censored].

 

 

4 minutes ago, Akum said:

I totally agree with you because that's not what I'm talking about at all.

I'm talking measured, careful, and driven by our duty of care to our players being our priority.

You said the coach had to come out and say... sorry for my hyperbole, but a big media frenzy is exactly what would happen if your original post happened. Agree with a measured, careful approach and that is what I am advocating.

3 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Unfortunately when you're beholden to the AFL that's the way it goes

Who isn't.. North isnt ? 

 

Watched it again and it looks like Higgins gives Wagner a real cheap shot in there. Might be the reason Salem reacted the way he did, which seemed very out of character.

 

PS. The AFL are outrageous and are trying to claim it wasn't a 50m against Jeremy Cameron, he ran 5 meters over the mark.

 

 

 

 

 

1 minute ago, Sigil said:

You said the coach had to come out and say... sorry for my hyperbole, but a big media frenzy is exactly what would happen if your original post happened. Agree with a measured, careful approach and that is what I am advocating.

Some of what I saw on Sunday is in the realm of assault and the AFL, as the controlling body, has a "duty of care" to protect the victims. They need to take a very close look at this and give "written" direction to the MRP and Umpires that assaults where the intention to harm is clear and not in general play should be penalised to the extent that it discourages the behaviour. To do otherwise is to condone the behavior. I can see a day coming where a player sues the AFL and/or an Umpire for failing to provide a safe workplace on the grounds that an injury was sustained that was foreseeable and preventable but they did nothing. As to the MFC response; a written complaint to the AFL along these lines is appropriate and warranted.

"For evil men to accomplish their purpose it is only necessary that good men should do nothing".

As to my response; I have instructed the Minister for War and Finance to book flights and accommodation so I may hang over the fence at Blundstone Arena and hurl abuse at Cun*ington, Higgins, et al in 6 weeks time. The umpires might be in trouble too.

In late news; we have secured seats and it appears this game will be a sell out. The "Minister" advised there were very few left.

Is it contradictory for me to want our boys to smash the plicks?

I really hope we come out and belt the Roos later in the season.

It seems similar to the Hawks last year. We got close in the first game of the season but couldn't quite do it. Fast forward to the next game and we out-played them.

This is probably the last of our really bad hoodoo's we have to break. Winning in WA of course is another but there are a number of teams with that issue.

I don't post here often, but the rabid mood on here is contagious. I am absolutely fuming about the MRP farce, and also this:

In all seriousness I would love to know what the club is doing about all of this. We have been scapegoated and taken advantage of. I am all for taking the high road but the time has come to ask serious questions of the AFL. 

I would say Karma will get them, but its BS and doesnt exist. Unfortunately we as a supporter base are well aware of that.

Does anyone have any AFL connections? This is [censored]. 

 

2 hours ago, Akum said:

I reckon Goody needs to come out and say that Sunday's game demonstrated the need for the club to take action to protect our younger players from the sort of treatment they were on the end of during that game.

Perhaps he could say that our insurer has told us that it's part of our duty of care to our players to do everything within our power to prevent the same thing - or worse - happening in future (if this isn't true, it really should be).

He could say that the spite in the game was initiated early on by a 19-year-old player getting throat punched off the ball by a senior player, who was not penalised for doing so.

He could say that, unless we take steps now to ensure that this type of thing is sanctioned, we can't guarantee that our players will be protected from more severe injury in the future as a result of such an incident. 

He could say that it was our reasonable expectation as a club that our players would get adequate protection from the umpires, but clearly this did not happen throughout the game. This is a cause of some concern to us.

He could also say that in any other year than this year, the opponents who deliberately punched our players would be sitting out for a week or two, and like the majority of the football world, we are perplexed as to why this has changed, and have yet to receive a good explanation from the AFL about the rationale for this change.

He could also say that we like to play the game hard but fair, but that Sunday's game demonstrated that bending the rules actually gets you further.

Our acquiescence after the Carlton game has bothered me. Both Hogan and Lewis reacted to something that was said to them. Viney, who was within earshot of the Lewis incident, clearly thought it was inappropriate too, and shoved Cripps into the ground after Lewis hit him. By contrast, Carlton exposed the sledging of Marc Murphy and it actually worked in their favour. So far, our silence and meek acquiescence has just made us a bigger target.

You've won me over.

Salem deserved a week. Stupid from him.

But Cunnington deserved a week too, as did Cotchin last week.

Whether it's the MRP or the grading system, it is broken and needs to be fixed.

4 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

I don't post here often, but the rabid mood on here is contagious. I am absolutely fuming about the MRP farce, and also this:

In all seriousness I would love to know what the club is doing about all of this. We have been scapegoated and taken advantage of. I am all for taking the high road but the time has come to ask serious questions of the AFL. 

I would say Karma will get them, but its BS and doesnt exist. Unfortunately we as a supporter base are well aware of that.

Does anyone have any AFL connections? This is [censored]. 

 

It's actually impossible to work out how any umpire could conceivably award a free kick to the North player in that.

It's insane.

So, so bad.

Up there with the DOOB against Hibberd.

Sometimes it's not about doing something to change an outcome, it's about doing something to show that you won't lie down and take the injustice. 

When something isn't right and you say nothing, are you any less guilty?

3 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

It's actually impossible to work out how any umpire could conceivably award a free kick to the North player in that.

It's insane.

So, so bad.

Up there with the DOOB against Hibberd.

By comparison the Hibberd DOOB makes much more sense as an error, he was handballing down the line, the umpire was (potentially) blindsided and saw him point at the boundary and pass it out. 

The Salem free however I just cannot fathom. Don't even know where to start. We may as well lie on top of the opposition's 17 players on the boundary line and watch Hunt torch a single opponent repeatedly.

Fair dinkum how soft are many of you.. Salems nudge was tiggy touch. All in a days work.

Cunningtons was blatant thuggery.

You penalise one ...you do both.

3 hours ago, Akum said:

Clearly our young players aren't going to get any protection from umpires, unless something changes. Clarry got throat punched right in front of the umpire, and nothing. And clearly the MRP aren't going to do anything about it either.

I just hope that when a young player gets seriously hurt by a sniper like Higgins or a thug like Cunnington, it won't be one of ours.

I just hope from now on our players don't hesitate throwing their fists around (as long as they don't go above the neck or if they do make sure they're touching the opponent's jumper.

3 hours ago, brendan said:

Yep yesterday's tactics from north had brad Scott written all over it, target certain players and get them off there game and if you need to, punch to the gut or jumper punch as you won't get suspended, it worked we got sucked in, and then Scott comes out after and say players shouldn't get suspended for it, it was all a plan that the team carried out to perfection, north Melbourne have now taken over from hawthorn as my most hated team and I hope we smash them in 6 weeks 

Not only saying they shouldn't be suspended but that they were retaliating to OUR roughouse tactics 

6 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Not only saying they shouldn't be suspended but that they were retaliating to OUR roughouse tactics 

We got outplayed...outcoached

A lot to learn yet

2 hours ago, Sigil said:

I don't think he will, because we aren't that sort of club.

I understand the frustration and what you are saying, but I don't want us to be North or Carlton in that regard. I don't want our coach looking like a whinger (rightly or wrongly), look at what we did wrong, what we can do better and educate the group from there.

Plus in that second quarter we were just as full on as they were.

I'd rather look like a whinger than a yellow belly 

42 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

I don't post here often, but the rabid mood on here is contagious. I am absolutely fuming about the MRP farce, and also this:

In all seriousness I would love to know what the club is doing about all of this. We have been scapegoated and taken advantage of. I am all for taking the high road but the time has come to ask serious questions of the AFL. 

I would say Karma will get them, but its BS and doesnt exist. Unfortunately we as a supporter base are well aware of that.

Does anyone have any AFL connections? This is [censored]. 

 

I know people ridicule it but that is just another example of a completely biased day of umpiring. It was clear and blatant favouritism and the umpires should be investigated by the AFLs integrity unit and have their finances/betting accounts reviewed.

3 hours ago, picket fence said:

Thats it , Im coming outa retirement with Byron and Rod and will sort a few out! We will cop life bans but it will be well worth it . Time to fix up this pusilanamous, flee bitten, cheap shot, feral, marsupial club once and for all!

Jumper size 40 "Slim Fit" 

 

Make room  a #44 will do

might just 'clean' my 'stops'  ... for ... effect

There is a truth. A reality. The obvious thing about the game is that Scott coached North to target Oliver. Not unusual. Sheedy always had a thug or two in his sides.

The thing that is so upsetting is that we got reamed by the umpires, neither of the incidents did we receive a free kick (thats fu#### terrible umpiring and if they had of given a free to Oliver when they should have all the spite for the rest of the game would have been alleviated) reamed by the commentators who were calling Bernie a head-hunter, we lose the game and now we get one suspended and North get off Scott free. 

F### the lot of them.

and let's not forget salem actually got 2 weeks (1 week if accepted) for that, for negligible outcome. if you watch it at normal speed you can see that impact was also quite light. it looks much worse in slow motion replay.