daysofourlives wrote:Dont have a problem with the Hodge suspension on the surface of it.
BUT, IMO he should be able to argue his case, be cross examined etc etc without risking another week, that is whats wrong with the system. Nobody in their right mind will challenge the penalty in this circumstance, we have 2 weeks off anyway so not going to risk a final.
If Hodge elected to tackle he splits himself up the middle on the point post, if he doesnt shape to bump Wingard COULD possibly have come back into into play. I think the point post should be taken into account. He has a duty of care to himself just as much as Wingard and we would all put our own safety ahead of someone elses.
By Hodge (and other cases) accepting the penalty it creates precedence which hasnt properly been tested in a tribunal situation. Nobody knows what was going through his mind and he should be given the opportunity to express that without risking a further week.
It was obvious Wingard had to pull up /slow down to get back into play. If he was laying a tackle he needn't have sped up. Also the guy's HEAD was the only part of him near the goal post, if he'd laid a tackle on his body he'd have gone behind the post.
So the way I saw it, he should have slowed down and just grabbed him. There's no way a Hawthorn player would do that in that situation, because part of their team ethos is the opposite. They're "unsociable" and seemingly proud of it..
This is all beside the point however, because Wingard was already out of play.
I know it's your team because of your avatar and all that and I'd say that's the only reason you're defending this act. As an outsider however, I reckon he got off light and that "unsociable" euphemism is just a new code for one day someone's going to get hurt real bad.
