Game Day Around the Grounds - Rnds 16 - 20

[footyfan1978]

Every punch is a coward punch.
You're not really much more of a hero, punching on face to face either.

Strange reaction/reflex by Gaff.
I trust him in that he didn't mean it, but the outcome isn't a good one, for him, Brayshaw and football in general.

Yep, personally I do not want Gaff at our club now, no matter what his clean record was before. Let him suffer the consequences on his reputation for what he has done. I would have wanted us to chase him if he was gettable before this but now I just think, * him. You deserve to be made to feel like a dog what you done to that kid. It is out of character but you do the crime, you got to live with it.

 

[footyfan1978]

Hope the Tribunal throw the book at Gaff.

I hope the police do too.

 

[footyfan1978]

Just remembered Gaff has to face the fact Andrew's brother on Eagles list at moment. He is going to be as low as low when he sees a family member.

 

[Smegger]

Let's put Gaff's character to one side for the moment, as it has been, till now impeccable.

Throwing a gut punch is one thing, but there is absolutely no reason for any player to throw a punch like that to another players, face/head

He should be banned for a minimum of 8 weeks

IMO penalties for off the ball incidents should be broken down into two steps.

1. Base penalty - action/ intent. (base penalty non negotiable regardless of outcome)
2. Severity penalty - damage done.

example - Lewis/Cripps:
1. Punch to the head off the ball = 4 weeks.
2. Broken jaw = 4 weeks.
total = 8 week penalty

Going by this i'd judge Gaff about 10 weeks. 10 is a long time but it needs to be. Send a clear message that off the ball hits are going to cost you and your team big.

 

[Arr0w]

IMO penalties for off the ball incidents should be broken down into two steps.

1. Base penalty - action/ intent. (base penalty non negotiable regardless of outcome)
2. Severity penalty - damage done.

example - Lewis/Cripps:
1. Punch to the head off the ball = 4 weeks.
2. Broken jaw = 4 weeks.
total = 8 week penalty

Going by this i'd judge Gaff about 10 weeks. 10 is a long time but it needs to be. Send a clear message that off the ball hits are going to cost you and your team big.

Completely agree, the base penalty needs to be increased to eradicate or at the very least minimise this sort of incident

 

[Blue Pulse]

IMO penalties for off the ball incidents should be broken down into two steps.

1. Base penalty - action/ intent. (base penalty non negotiable regardless of outcome)
2. Severity penalty - damage done.

example - Lewis/Cripps:
1. Punch to the head off the ball = 4 weeks.
2. Broken jaw = 4 weeks.
total = 8 week penalty

Going by this i'd judge Gaff about 10 weeks. 10 is a long time but it needs to be. Send a clear message that off the ball hits are going to cost you and your team big.

Exactly, 3 weeks for Lewis is a joke, it sends no message

 

[Gethelred]

Yep, personally I do not want Gaff at our club now, no matter what his clean record was before. Let him suffer the consequences on his reputation for what he has done. I would have wanted us to chase him if he was gettable before this but now I just think, **** him. You deserve to be made to feel like a dog what you done to that kid. It is out of character but you do the crime, you got to live with it.

On one hand, I get it. He's a mature player, who's belted a teenager so badly they needed surgery on their jaw, won't play again this year, and needs significant medical care to put back in his teeth. He deserves pretty much everything that'll happen to him.

But some of the rhetoric around this is a bit excessive. It's part of why I don't like the one-punch laws; it effects the repeat offenders the exact same way as it does the genuine one off flash of poor judgement, and puts people into a situation where they cease to be people and become monsters, criminals. The label follows them around, and they become recidivists, repeat offenders, where they if treated differently could've lamented that brain fade every moment until the day they die.

Gaff will probably regret this every moment until he dies. He is not someone who does this on a football field, and this is his first such offence. I don't buy into the ridiculous 'he didn't mean to hit his face' bullshit; you throw a punch in the vicinity of someone's jaw, you meant to hit them in the face. You've clenched your fist, taken aim, and thrown the thing; you're responsible for the repercussions.

We're not at the level that I'm quite talking about with Gaff yet, but we're getting to that point. It's outrageous, and it simply doesn't belong on a football field. But it doesn't and shouldn't be used to blacklist a person. That's the stuff that truly creates monsters.

 

[footyfan1978]

On one hand, I get it. He's a mature player, who's belted a teenager so badly they needed surgery on their jaw, won't play again this year, and needs significant medical care to put back in his teeth. He deserves pretty much everything that'll happen to him.

Yep. Hope he cops it. Deserves no sympathy at all.

 

[Aphrodite]

I hope the police do too.

Coward punch any day of the week.

 

[DIG]

We're the eagles fans really giving Gaff standing ovations for the rest of the game??

 

[Aphrodite]

We're the eagles fans really giving Gaff standing ovations for the rest of the game??

Apparently.

Disgraceful if true.

 

[passmark]

You can't expect an unbiased assessment from anyone that has any involved in a Club chasing Gaffs signature.

Eliminate:
Kingy
Spud
Derm
Dunstall
Richo
etc etc etc.

Kingy basically cheering for Gaff tells me the Kangas are going big on him.

On cue.

Spud Frawley effectively calling Gaff a hero for how he's handled himself since the incident.

Saints must a=have 10 mill deal in front of him.

 

[Gethelred]

We're the eagles fans really giving Gaff standing ovations for the rest of the game??

According to this article - on the Roar, so of dubious credibility - there were no replays of the incident at the stadium, and what the WC fans in the ground saw was not the incident but all of the retaliation.

https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/08/06/perspective-west-coast-fans-reaction-gaff-hit/

 

[agro]

Interesting that Jon Anderson made an oblique reference to the “Ian Aiken-Battle of Britain” incident this morning on 3AW Breakfast, without mentioning either Clarkson or Aitken he said (or words to the effect) that a very talented first year player was king hit in an off the Ball incident in an overseas exhibition game and was never the same player again.

The AFL media love perpetuating and protecting the myth of the “good bloke you can sit down and have a beer with”.

 

[JustaBattler]

The AFL has 'sanctioned' extremely dangerous player actions - by handing out weak penalties to players like Lewis and Howe as examples. The difference between broken jaw or worse is timing or accident. The AFL and its 'good bloke free hit at low ranked Clubs' policies need to step back and align penalties with the so called 'duty of care' - especially to head contact. Nothing more clear that a player is out of control than when they make deliberate punch to another player's head.

There is no excuse for punching a person in the head - it is potentially life threatening and should be treated as criminal assault - because that it exactly what it is.

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Interesting to see how 7 Perth cover this.

They were on Media Watch a couple of weeks ago with the Nic Nat Airport scuffle, and as a major sponsor of WC, steered clear of it.

 

[thylacine60]

On cue.

Spud Frawley effectively calling Gaff a hero for how he's handled himself since the incident.

Saints must a=have 10 mill deal in front of him.

frawley shouldn't be allowed near cutlery let alone have opinions on things of importance

 

[Soapy V]

IMO penalties for off the ball incidents should be broken down into two steps.

1. Base penalty - action/ intent. (base penalty non negotiable regardless of outcome)
2. Severity penalty - damage done.

example - Lewis/Cripps:
1. Punch to the head off the ball = 4 weeks.
2. Broken jaw = 4 weeks.
total = 8 week penalty

Going by this i'd judge Gaff about 10 weeks. 10 is a long time but it needs to be. Send a clear message that off the ball hits are going to cost you and your team big.

Agree. AFL really need to step up and make a statement

 

[HARKER]

frawley shouldn't be allowed near cutlery let alone have opinions on things of importance

Yeah. I find his views so........nothing.
He sounds like he's really not sure of his own opinion and no speaking louder than normal, makes up for that.

 

[Wickzki]

https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/w...h/news-story/60f8f1bb858f56908637bcc6acca5595

Making matters even more awkward for the midfielder is his close relationship with the Brayshaw family. He’s become good friends Andrew because of his bond with Hamish Brayshaw, who the Eagles drafted last year but is yet to make his senior debut.

Simpson also played footy with Mark Brayshaw, Andrew’s father, who has spoken to Nisbett and his former teammate about the drama.

Damn.

 

[footyfan1978]

Yeah. I find his views so........nothing.
He sounds like he's really not sure of his own opinion

yeah nah...

 

[Gethelred]

https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/w...h/news-story/60f8f1bb858f56908637bcc6acca5595



Damn.

That's the word.

 

[thylacine60]

can I just say I've never been on television?

 

[footyfan1978]

No.

 

[Gethelred]

can I just say I've never been on television?

They couldn't claim you're extinct if you had.