The AFL tribunal has heard some ferocious debating around the Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford tackles that have had the entire industry in a spin.
Brisbane and the GWS Giants were challenging the bans of their respective players, but both clubs failed to have their three-match suspensions overturned in a marathon sitting on Tuesday night
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cameron ban remains after Lions fail at AFL tribunal.
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Cameron, the gun Brisbane small forward accidentally KO’d West Coast co-captain Liam Duggan on Sunday.
And the Match Review Officer banned him for three games, grading the incident as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
Many commentators thought he might get off, but AFL barrister Lisa Hannon KC successfully argued that Cameron should have tried to “pull or sit” Duggan down early in the tackle before he took more steps and they both ended up on the ground.
Hannon also said he could have “attempted to slow momentum”.
Cameron, however, insisted that he was “just trying to complete a tackle and not let him dispose of the ball”.
“That’s my job, to complete a tackle,” Cameron said.
Cameron also said Duggan was rotating his body and dragging him down. “We get our feet tangled and I lost my balance,” he said.
After a lengthy deliberation, the tribunal sided with the AFL and Cameron’s three-match ban remained.
Earlier this year Cameron was cleared of wrongdoing by the tribunal following a dumping tackle on Melbourne’s Jake Lever.
After that Round 5 incident, the Lions put up a “good guy” defence and pointed to Cameron’s “exemplary record and character”.
It, somewhat surprisingly, worked, too, and his suspension was thrown out.
This time Adrian Anderson argued that Cameron made the “right decision” to tackle Duggan and not bump him.
Anderson also said that Cameron was “trying to do right thing by standing up in the tackle”.
“Had his foot not been taken from under him, it would’ve been a safe tackle,” Anderson said.
Anderson also said that releasing the right arm — as the AFL suggested — would have made no difference.
It was a monster night at the tribunal with the Giants trying to clear Bedford from his three-match ban, and Gold Coast trying to free Alex Davies.
Unfortunately for the Giants, they also lost their case and the three-match ban remained.
The Giants were hoping to get the impact of Bedford’s tackle on Richmond’s Tim Taranto — who was also concussed — downgraded from severe to medium.
They argued that Taranto’s shoulder landed on the ground first and therefore it was more in line with an example of medium impact.
However, again the AFL said that Bedford should have showed more care in the tackle.
Hannon said Bedford should have kept his feet, stayed more upright, and taken another step or two
Hannon also said after Bedford elected to lunge or dive, he should have released one of Taranto’s arm.
But Bedford said it was all very quick and he didn’t even think of releasing an arm.
Gold Coast also failed to have the Davies ban overturned, albeit their chances seemed more unlikely.
He was charged with forceful, front-on contact for his bump that concussed Port Adelaide’s Lachie Jones.
In defending the Cameron verdict, the tribunal said Cameron engaged in rough conduct and, contrary to Cameron’s evidence, the vision clearly showed Cameron taking Duggan to ground.
“He used the right side of his body to forcefully drive Duggan backwards. Duggan managed to avoid being immediately driven to the ground by taking a few steps backwards and turning to the side,” the tribunal said.
“However, under the continued force being applied, Duggan then lost his feet and landed heavily on his back with his head hitting the ground.
“It is the combination of the excessive force used in driving Duggan backwards with both of his arms pinned that makes the tackle unreasonable in the circumstances.
“Those two features put Duggan in a highly vulnerable position. He had no opportunity to try to protect himself. If he wasn’t driven backwards with such force, then there would have been opportunity for him to try to control the way he landed.
“If his arms weren’t held, then there would have been opportunity for him to try to use an arm or shoulder to cushion his landing.”
Cameron will miss key games against Sydney, Gold Coast and St Kilda.
