AFL legend Jonathan Brown believes Demon Jacob van Rooyen’s suspension threatens to change the fabric of the game, declaring if it’s upheld we’ve “become a hostage of litigation.”
Melbourne in a statement confirmed it’ll challenge Van Rooyen’s two-match ban at the tribunal on Tuesday night for an incident in the fourth quarter of the club’s win of Gold Coast where the youngster crashed into Charlie Ballard while running back with the flight in a marking contest.
Ballard grabbed the back of his head and remained grounded for some time before being stretchered off the field. The Demons confirmed in their press release they’d reached out to the Suns and that Ballard “has recovered well and is expected to play this week.”
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The incident was graded as careless conduct, high contact and high impact by Match Review Officer Michael Christian.
And Brown, who over the weekend said if van Rooyen gets suspended it’d be “one of the worst decisions in tribunal history,” doubled down on his take.
“He’s just performing his job and doing everything he possibly can to get to the contest and create the contest. What else can he do there?” the triple-premiership winning Lion told Fox Footy’s On the Couch on Monday night.
“I can’t believe this has come up. Let’s make it clear that Charlie Ballard is not concussed there, I think there were some concerns there was a click in the neck … for safety reasons they stretched him off and he’s expected to play this week.
“All I’ll say if Jacob van Rooyen gets suspended for that, we have become a hostage to litigation. That is all you can say about that.
“That is a football incident and that is where we are going as a game, and that is a concern.
“That’s taking nothing away from people suffering long-term injuries to the head and all those sorts of things.
“But we cannot legislate everything out of our great game, otherwise we are changing the fabric.”
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley believes slow motion replays of the incident would be van Rooyen’s strongest defence given how close the Demons forward appeared to be from spoiling the ball.
“When Melbourne go to the tribunal, they’ll be showing the freeze-frames that has van Rooyen’s fist literally millimetres from the ball,” Buckley told On the Couch.
“He was aiming for Ballard’s hands and looking to put his fist where his hands are and intercept the ball. He doesn’t miss by much.
“His eyes are actually on the ball.”
Demons legend Garry Lyon agreed, suggesting van Rooyen’s spoil attempt was a football act as opposed to a reckless fist.
“Had it been a massive swing and taken the head incidentally, absolutely we say he’s not a chance (to get off his suspension),” he said on Fox Footy.
“That freeze-frame we had there summed it up for me. This is a kid who straight arm factually and marginally missed the ball and under his bicep caught a player, who ends up having no concussion or neck injury and is going to play next week.”
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If the ban isn’t overturned, van Rooyen would be unavailable to play in Melbourne’s upcoming clashes against Hawthorn (MCG) and Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval).
For chief Herald Sun reporter Mark Robinson, the van Rooyen-Ballard incident “shouldn’t even be reported”.
“That is a guy who’s young and runs with the flight of the ball to compete … he didn’t hit him,” Robinson said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“That’s really unfortunate, you’re allowed to do that. All is that talk about: ‘He didn’t have his eye on the ball.’ Where’s that in the rule book?
“Have we got an issue when the MRO puts him out for two weeks and the majority I’ve spoken to, read and listened to have said he shouldn’t be reported?”
It was one of several charges handed down over the weekend, with Geelong’s Brad Close and Hawthorn’s Tyler Brockman both offered one-match suspensions for their respective incidents.
Port Adelaide’s Junior Rioli was meanwhile referred directly to the tribunal for an off-ball hit on Jordan Ridley that left the Essendon defender concussed.
Christian graded Rioli’s clash with Ridley as careless and high impact with severe force, and if found guilty at the tribunal, he’ll be suspended for at least three matches.
Stay tuned for tribunal updates later on Tuesday.
