So Toby Greene has been suspended once more. Nothing new right here.
Before this season, Toby Greene had been charged 19 occasions by the AFL, and located responsible 19 occasions. After this week, he now holds the VFL/AFL file for the participant discovered responsible the most occasions, at a mean of twice a yr since his debut.
There are a pair of embarrassing elements to this case.
First, let’s be very, very clear. Greene performs on the edge, and many of individuals love him for it.
Greene noticed the alternative to win the ball, utilizing what gave the impression to be a careless fend-off, however was truly a forearm and elbow that inflicted injury on the opposition’s finest participant.
The response of some of the AFL commentariat defending Greene, together with and particularly previous gamers, has been laughable. It has been some misguided brotherhood, as a result of they need to aspect with one of their favourites in opposition to the institution.
We constantly marvel at Greene’s exploits when the ball is in his space. His judgement of the ball in the air, the potential to make use of an inch of his hip at the proper split-second to work his opponent precisely the place he needs him. His potential to kick a purpose from a quarter-chance in a congested state of affairs. His uncanny soccer instincts that sense a second, and rise to it accordingly.
In quick, his soccer IQ is off the charts.
(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Yet, when Greene performs one of these actions which have seen him charged with regularity, many ex-players act as if he now not possesses any management. He’s mainly a gumby, with no management over his limbs. An open-mouthed clown at a carnival, swinging his head back and forth, with nothing between his ears besides contemporary air.
If you hear a commentator making an attempt to defend Greene with any of this type of lame nonsense, consolation your self with the proven fact that they’re publicly declaring themselves a simpleton. They’ve performed the recreation. They know there are far fewer accidents on the soccer area than some can have you consider.
Then, of course, there may be the candy irony of Patrick Dangerfield as the sufferer of Greene’s motion.
We solely need to solid our thoughts again to final yr’s grand ultimate, when Dangerfield caught Nick Vlastuin’s face with a forearm and elbow.
Vlastuin was knocked out effectively earlier than he crumpled to the floor. The solely query at the time was whether or not Dangerfield would serve 4 or six weeks for committing such an act, particularly in a grand ultimate.
The AFL decided that Dangerfield had no case to reply, regardless of years of declaring the head sacrosanct.
No suspension to Dangerfield set the normal for confusion.
Earlier in the yr we noticed Bayley Fritsch elbow Tom Powell in a deliberate motion. The MRO gave him one week, which felt gentle if something. The tribunal overturned it. And now we’ve had Greene obtain two weeks, which the tribunal has downgraded to at least one.
The actions of Fritsch and Greene have been clearly much less impactful than Dangerfield’s. What a large number.
Toby Greene loves pushing the boundaries and it implies that every so often he’s going to get executed. It’s a chance price he appears completely happy to put on.
But, till the AFL begins adjudicating these points constantly, the case can nonetheless be made that, paradoxically, he’s laborious executed by.
