Outgoing AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan admits he was “agitated” by the decision that cleared Patrick Cripps of suspension.
The Carlton captain was on Sunday night crowned the 2022 Brownlow Medallist, capping a superb individual season.
But should he have been eligible?
Cripps was initially suspended by the MRO for two matches after collecting Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee with a head-high bump in Round 21.
The Tribunal upheld that decision before the Blues took the rough conduct charge to the AFL Appeals Board. They were successful in having the ban overturned, essentially due to a technicality because of “the failure to afford procedural fairness”.
McLachlan labelled that a “complete nonsense” in the aftermath, with the AFL wanting to crack down on head-high contact only to see a player get off.
The league’s chief told the AFL Record’s Ash Browne that he did not agree with the decision to clear Cripps and insists the system will be reviewed before next season.
“People are aware I was very agitated by that decision,” McLachlan said in the AFL Record Grand Final edition.
“It made no sense to me in any way and it is frustrating to have a legal view about due process or procedural fairness - a complete nonsense - really affect a clear mandate to protect the head.
“We confused our supporters and set ourselves back and that really frustrates me.
“When you can have something that is so important, which is protecting the head, and a clear statement from the MRO and backed up by the Tribunal, and then the player getting off because of a legal technicality and nobody really understanding what the hell happened, I find that challenging.
“So, I have asked the guys to review the system and we will see where that lands.”
In the most thrilling count in recent memory, Cripps polled three votes in the final round of the season to finish on 29 votes, edging out Brisbane’s 2020 winner Lachie Neale (28), with Gold Coast’s Touk Miller third (27), ahead of Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw and Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver (both 25).
Had Cripps’ suspension stood, he would not have polled the three votes that took him to outright first in Round 23.
The Blues skipper became the sixth Carlton player to win the award.