Two rival coaches have joined previous greats in calling for Melbourne teen Jacob van Rooyen to have his two-match suspension for placing overturned by the AFL tribunal.
Van Rooyen was cited by the match evaluate officer over a spoiling try in a marking contest that led to Gold Coast’s Charlie Ballard being taken off the sector on a stretcher.
Match evaluate officer Michael Christian assessed the incident as careless conduct, excessive contact and excessive impression.
The Demons will problem van Rooyen’s ban on the tribunal on Tuesday night time.
GWS coach Adam Kingsley and Fremantle’s Justin Longmuir informed Fox Footy the 20-year-old must be cleared.
“He’d be stiff to miss. It looks like he’s really trying to go for the ball,” Kingsley mentioned.
“The only thing is where are his eyes, what’s his intent? You typically judge a player’s intent through their eyes.
“It appears like, to me, he was making an attempt to compete and get the ball to floor.
“Did it look like it was suspendible? Probably not in my view.”
Longmuir agreed together with his teaching counterpart.
“The thing that hurts him in that case is the fact that he took his eyes off the ball, but usually that’s just a free kick,” Longmuir mentioned.
“I do like the way the AFL have looked after the head and concussion in particular.
“But I feel we will draw the road that it is in all probability a footy act and he was making an attempt to make a play on the ball.”
Ballard hurt his neck in the incident but was not concussed and is expected to play in the Suns’ clash with West Coast on Friday night.
Collingwood great Nathan Buckley said slow-motion footage will help Melbourne prove van Rooyen was contesting the ball, as opposed to trying to strike his opponent.
Brisbane legend Jonathan Brown said a suspension for van Rooyen would mean the game has “grow to be a hostage to litigation” amid ongoing legal battles around concussion.
“That is a soccer accident and if that’s the place we’re going as a recreation, that’s regarding,” Brown informed Fox Footy.
“That is taking nothing away from folks which can be struggling long-term accidents to the top and all these kinds of issues.
“But we cannot legislate everything out of our great game, otherwise we are changing the fabric (of it).”
Van Rooyen is one in all 4 gamers who will entrance the tribunal on Tuesday night time.
Port Adelaide ahead Junior Rioli is going through a ban of a minimum of three matches for placing Jordan Ridley in an off-the-ball incident that left the Essendon defender concussed.
Carlton’s Nic Newman will problem a one-match ban for placing Brisbane’s Lachie Neale and Geelong’s Brad Close will contest his one-match ban for tough conduct over a harmful sort out on Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
