4 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Not only didn’t he hit him in the head but his head doesn’t hit the ground nor is he concussed. Without the stretcher there is no report

Again dudded by theatrics and [censored] by an other club.    I'm livid

I want a tribunal member to tell 2 time AA defender Steven May that he is not a reasonable player the next time he accidentally hits an opponent in the head during a spoil. 

Our jumper for the next two weeks should be this one.

Appeal it on a legal technicality. He was charged with striking and now it is being referred to as a forceful blow. Nearly every action of an AFL player in a contested situation could be a forceful blow. That is why the charge is striking. They are two different actions and the significant distinguishing factor is intent. Your honour, the defence rests!

My Melbourne bias aside, this is a really sad day for footy. 

FFS what absolute BS

The AFL just hate admitting they are wrong and will only cave when they are forced to by leagal action.

But seriously where the consistency and resonablness in this.  How is JVR more guilty than Crips.

Where did giving the player any benifit of doubt regarding duty of care Vs made a small misjudgment and accidentally made minor contact (not actually injured vs he felt a shock at the time F witts).  It really irks me that the people that make these determinations look at the event in super slow motion freeze frame and make out like there is a rational descision making process that goes through the players head when all this happens.  Did these people ever actually play the game?

The AFL needs to go back over the footage of every game this season and suspend the dozens of players that similarly neglected their duty of care and made contact similar to JVR's.

I'm normally pretty understanding and progressive when it comes to these issues, but all this duty of care and protection of players health and safety has got to the point where it's lost the plot.  There does need to be a point that the players accept that by taking the feild, they are putting themselves at risk of accidental contact that is an unavoidable part of the game.  Where is it going to stop?  Suspend two players for an accidental head clash when they both only have eyes for the ball.

You know things are seriously out of whack when Jonathan Brown  presents a clearer and more credible argument than the official rulings from the league.

4 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I want a tribunal member to tell 2 time AA defender Steven May that he is not a reasonable player the next time he accidentally hits an opponent in the head during a spoil. 

I just want Steven May to punch a tribunal member in the head.

Anyone else like me . . . so completely flabbergasted that they cannot focus properly on anything else ATM - and the rest of the night is ruined?

So as an asides, did anyone ever free Jack Trengrove?

I hope we don’t come out and say “we respect the decision”. Let em have it. The AFL have a lot to answer for. Have a look at any post on any social media related to this story, never seen so many people in agreeance. What can we do as supporters of the game to voice our disgust? 

3 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

The AFL just hate admitting they are wrong and will only cave when they are forced to by leagal action.

Quite frankly - ATM, it's hard to see this not ending up in court.

Just now, Queanbeyan Demon said:

Anyone else like me . . . so completely flabbergasted that they cannot focus properly on anything else ATM - and the rest of the night is ruined?

Yep, storm AFL house time.

...since you are one of those MEGA guys.

I suspect something going on behind the scenes - they deliberated for a total of 16 minutes. That on its own speaks volumes as to the process. 

If I was a neutral observer of this sport I’d give it a miss for the rest of the year.
I’ve not been this disappointed for a long time. 
The administrators of the game are so high on their own stench they’re clearly intoxicated by it.
There is just no sense to the analysis it seems. God I hope we re-appeal this completely farcical decision. 

4 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I want a tribunal member to tell 2 time AA defender Steven May that he is not a reasonable player the next time he accidentally hits an opponent in the head during a spoil. 

May was the first person I thought of once JVR was cited

May is expert at spoiling and making his opponent earn it.  Maybe 4 or 5 times a game.  And there are a stack of defenders right across the league who do the same

So what happens now?  Are all those defender spoils reportable? 

If so, a massive can of worms has just been opened

Or, they've just made an example of a player they might deem as expendable

4 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

I just want Steven May to punch a tribunal member in the head.

Greville Street was just the entree.

33 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

all down to the 0.8 seconds where the eyes were off the ball.

This gives them the precedent to suspend JVR while still maintaining that the spoil is allowed.

It is what it is.............

In his evidence, which was impressive for its candour, he said that he looked up and watched the ball as he ran to the contest. A few steps before arriving at the contest he took his eyes off the ball and look at, or in the immediate direction of Ballard, who was shaping to mark the ball.

 

"We are not critical of van Rooyen for doing this; it was reasonable for him to look at Ballard and the drop of the ball and assess the situation. We find his objective at the moment of, and prior to impact, was to spoil the mark. However we also find that a reasonable player would have foreseen that in spoiling the way he did, it would have almost inevitably resulted in a forceful blow to Ballard's head.

But the idiots are still saying he hit Ballard’s head when it clearly did not. 

19 minutes ago, Gawn's Beard said:

Nothing. Easier for the AFL to pick a junior / second year player to send a message to all clubs rather than a high profile player where there’d be far more media interest. Hope the media jumps all over this and not just Slobo

Exactly like Chandler last year. Pick a new no name MFC player.  

2 minutes ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

Anyone else like me . . . so completely flabbergasted that they cannot focus properly on anything else ATM - and the rest of the night is ruined?

Yeah QD, definitely a flat night. JVR is getting a lot of support from footy followers at least. I seriously want to go and egg AFL house but someone told me it’s a waste of eggs.

This really is totally çorrupt..We must appeal for the integrity of our game

Still farg3n FLABBERGASTED🤯

Just now, Macca said:

May was the first person I thought of once JVR was cited

May is expert at spoiling and making his opponent earn it.  Maybe 4 or 5 times a game.  And there are a stack of defenders right across the league who do the same

So what happens now?  Are all those defender spoils reportable? 

If so, a massive can of worms has just been opened

Or, they've just made an example of a player they might deem as expendable

29 minutes ago, Nicko said:

Nothing to see here 

The JVR decision is insane particularly when compared to this in the same game

Who are the idiots on the the tribunal? 

So disillusioned.

I agree with @Deebymistake… if it wasn’t for how much I love our club I’d give footy away altogether. When something like this happens it really tests your love of the game. Bitterly disappointing. 

6 minutes ago, Dwight Schrute said:

I'm shocked. i can't even wrap my head around the logic that leads to this conclusion 

 

Well the logic if it was followed through by umpires and the AFL is we have entered the era of touch footy! On this ruling you can’t initiate contact with a player in possession of the ball in any way as it could result in injury. Of course the AFL will ignore the logic and ignore similar collisions if it involves a high profile player or a big club in finals contention. And in the finals when the game gets really brutal the MRO will be looking the other way. 

3 minutes ago, Dodos Demons said:

I suspect something going on behind the scenes - they deliberated for a total of 16 minutes. That on its own speaks volumes as to the process. 

All 16mins?