Gerard Whateley’s bewilderment with the Tribunal has continued on the back of surprising decisions from both the AFL and VFL on Tuesday night.
Following a successful appeal, Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch had his initial one-game ban overturned for his elbow fend on North Melbourne’s Tom Powell.
That positive result for the Demons preceded a negative outcome for Sydney’s Paddy McCartin, who was hit with a five-week suspension by the VFL Tribunal for his punch on Geelong’s Aaron Black.
Whateley firmly believes that both Tribunals missed the mark by rescinding Fritsch’s suspension while going lightly on McCartin.
“The AFL judicial system knows how to send a message. It has no clue how to maintain a message,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“What Bayley Fritsch did is the very definition of careless. Absolutely no malice in it but if you’re going to fend off a player coming to tackle, that’s the open palm to the chest. If it goes a little higher it’s a free kick.
“When you raise your elbow that is the very definition of careless. Bizarre decision last night.
“The Tribunal and the MRO and the football department, they know how to send a message. They have no clue how to maintain a message.”
The McCartin punch was a similar act to previous off-the-ball incidents involving Barry Hall (seven weeks) and Andrew Gaff (eight weeks), with Whateley iterating the five-week sanction as not harsh enough a penalty.
“The action of the flush punch in our game is eight weeks,” he added.
“Barry Hall set the standard, Andrew Gaff reinforced the standard. Last night, the VFL clearly has no clue on the history of these things.
“How that suspension for Paddy McCartin landed at five weeks has nothing to do with personalities or mitigation. The act of punching an opponent directly in the face is eight weeks.
“So again, just no clue how to maintain standards that have long been set.
“If you’re pondering how do we measure these things? You wouldn’t know. It’s a complete lottery how these things land.
“I couldn’t believe those two Tribunal decisions last night.”
Whateley was not the only media figure perplexed by the rulings with North Melbourne champion David King unhappy, mainly due to the ongoing concussion issues the game is facing.
Whoever gave the McCartin suspension should hang their head in shame. Either take concussion seriously or vacate your role. I’m over this.
— David King (@davidking34) May 4, 2021
Fritsch is free to play for the ladder-leading Dees against the Swans on Saturday night while McCartin is preparing for a lengthy stint on the sidelines.