The full AFL MRP report can be found here. What I'm worried about is:
Contact between Essendon’s Paul Chapman and the Brisbane Lions’ Jack Redden from the second quarter of Saturday’s match was assessed. The force used in the contact was below that required to constitute a reportable offence, with a free kick paid at the time for the high contact. No further action was taken.So, the MRP was happy to put Viney through the ringer for this:
Where it's plainly obvious that Viney's going for the ball, but is completely OK with this:
Where Chapman is clearly playing the man and not the ball.
I reckon Chapman (who I hate with a passion equal to my loathing of port adelaide) has gotten off purely on the back of the Viney incident (not to mention Redden doesn't play for a Victorian team so he doesn't matter). Personally I reckon both players should have copped at least a week for their efforts. The only consolation is that Chapman is going a week anyway because of his dog hit on Zorko. As I said in my earlier blog, these players need to be protected. They're human beings too remember, not just cattle for us to enjoy getting slaughtered. How hard is it to bump someone cleanly between their shoulder and their knees? The MRP and the Tribunal are nothing more than a Court of Public Opinion, hang the rules!
In other news, after a horrible night that I'd rather not talk about, this afternoon I got into the garden to see how my plants are doing. I won't be getting a bumper crop of snow peas and tomatoes this season, but at least most of my plants have survived and started flowering. The rookie mistakes I've made include being a little neglectful and overplanting, but I'll know better for next season.
