Milburn Penalty Cut To One Game

The Age

Wednesday August 6, 2008

Michael Lynch

AFL tribunal chairman David Jones last night urged the game's governing body to bring in a new rule specifically outlawing the spear tackle after Geelong defender Darren Milburn successfully employed a technical argument to downgrade his offence and have his suspension on a rough conduct charge reduced from two games to one.

In what was a good night for players contesting rough-conduct charges, Carlton youngster Steve Browne also successfully argued that his collision with Adelaide's Jason Porplyzia was accidental because he had been pushed into the midfielder by a teammate, Brett Thornton, and that he had tried to take some evasive action to avoid Porplyzia as he caught sight of him in his peripheral vision.

Porplyzia received bruising to the brain and will miss several games in the Crows' run to the finals.

Milburn had pleaded guilty to the charge of rough conduct for his third-quarter tackle on Richmond teenager Shane Edwards in last Saturday night's Telstra Dome clash against the Tigers.

The Geelong hardman pinned Edwards' arms and swung him to the ground after the ball had spilled clear in the tackle. Edwards' head slammed into the ground.

In what was something of a gamble - Milburn could have seen his penalty increased had his bid to exploit a legal grey-area failed - his advocate, Peter Murdoch QC, effectively argued that the current AFL guidelines did not specifically cover this type of offence, convincing the tribunal that while Edwards' head might have made contact with the ground, the tackle was actually on the player's body.

Therefore the offence involved body contact, not the more serious head-high contact, and should be treated as such.

Murdoch said that Milburn should be levied six activation points, not seven, meaning the category of his offence would be reduced from level four to three. With 25% discounts for his good behaviour over the past five years and for his preparedness to plead guilty, Milburn would, said Murdoch, then have 182.81 demerit points - enough for a one-game suspension, not the two he would have copped had he not contested the severity of the punishment.

Legal counsel Jeff Gleeson SC argued that the critical point of impact on the victim player - in this case Edward's head - should be the determining factor in any decision

But the tribunal accepted the argument that the current guidelines were not sufficiently clear on this type of offence, with Johnson urging the AFL to end the anomaly at season's end.

"This case, to my mind, illustrates the need for the AFL to consider, when they do their review of the rules at the end of the year, introducing a specific offence for contact of this nature. Its been done in respect to front on contact and head high (contact)," the chairman said.

"This incident increases the need for the AFL to consider the introduction in its review of specific offences (an offence) for a dangerous tackle, or a throw tackle, or as its referred to in rugby league, a spear tackle."

Milburn remained tight-lipped as he brushed past the media, but the man who preceded him, Browne, was delighted to be able to play a part in Carlton's push for a place in the final eight.

In evidence he had said there was "no way I could have avoided the collision" with Porplyzia and that he had not been aware of the Adelaide player until he had made contact with him. "I feel sorry for the bloke but I can't do anything really."

© 2008 The Age

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