Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney’s Brownlow Medal eligibility is hanging by a thread after his AFL Tribunal appeal failed on Tuesday night, with the Swans said to be plotting a last-gasp effort at the AFL Appeals Board.
Heeney, at present, will miss Saturday’s clash with North Melbourne and will be unable to challenge for the AFL’s top honour.
Per reports by Nine’s Tom Morris and Seven’s Mitch Cleary on Wednesday, the Swans will take their chances at the Appeals Board.
Watch every game of every round this Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
Max King to be offered 9-year $10M deal? | 01:58
According to AFL regulations, a successful appeal must satisfy one of the following: Error of law that has a material impact on the decision of the Tribunal; That the decision was so unreasonable that no Tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it; Classification of offence manifestly excessive or inadequate; Sanction imposed manifestly excessive or inadequate.
If unsuccessful, the appeal will cost Sydney $10,000.
Debate has raged about not only Heeney’s act but the rules around eligibility to win the Brownlow Medal. Sydney’s Tribunal argument fell short on Tuesday night, with an Appeals Board hearing now the only avenue left to clear his name.
The Match Review Officer offered Heeney a one-match ban for striking St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster last Sunday, with the Tribunal unwilling to downgrade the MRO’s conduct grading from ‘intentional’ to ‘careless’ — preserving the one-game sanction.
The panel of Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle discussed the circumstances of the sanction, expressing sympathy for Heeney.
“I just feel that St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster lean forward … I reckon he’s a bit stiff, he wasn’t looking when he threw his arm back,” Herald Sun journalist Jay Clark said on Tuesday evening.
“For me, he’s got to get off,” colleague Glenn McFarlane said. “Bugger the AFL (rule) tweak — should you lose a Brownlow for that? I’m saying no. I’m not saying it’s his (Jimmy Webster’s) fault, but he definitely leaned forward.”
Fellow Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph described the arguments that went back and forth, as well as the rule change that was made in the pre-season.
“He said under testimony he was stunned to have hit Webster — he said that he turned back as the ball was heading towards him, so shocked was he to have made contact,” Ralph said.
“He said he had made that motion 50-100 times in a game. The AFL has suggested in that cross-examination that Heeney would have had time to have seen Webster in his peripheral vision, so that’s the argument.
“They (the AFL) brought a rule in for a crisis no one had. I couldn’t even see a precedent for what Heeney had done in the last 10 years to say: ‘this is what we should do’.
Cripps endorses Hansen for Eagles job | 01:01
“Just on Laura Kane. She has got the capacity to be the league’s first AFL chief executive as a woman — that’s how well I rate her.”
Kane — not yet a year into her reign as the AFL’s executive general manager — recently spoke on Rising Star and Brownlow eligibility, stating: “There are plenty of other awards that those players can win — the best first-year player is an example, but not the Brownlow or the Rising Star.”
Ralph said in response to those comments: “Who gives a flying ‘you know what’ about the best first-year player from the AFLPA? Who won it last year? (You’ve got to) look it up.
“You make it a two or a three-week threshold. You have the conversation … it’s probably a million-dollar award across the life of your career, and for them to say ‘well, you can win the best first-year player’ … look at Corey McKernan.
“Corey’s still damaged to his soul. Now, he won a premiership that year, but he’s still asked about it every time this comes up.”
In 1996, McKernan finished on 21 votes with dual-winners Michael Voss and James Hird, though he was ruled ineligible earlier in the year after copping a one-game suspension.
Bolton to stay a Tiger despite offers | 02:33
Debate raged in the day leading up to Heeney’s hearing, with Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown chiming in to challenge the AFL’s interpretation of particular acts and the regulations around the Brownlow Medal.
“No (Heeney’s act is not worth a suspension), because it’s part of the craft. It’s a football accident,” Brown told SEN Breakfast on Tuesday.
“I think they need to rewrite that rule or the definition of what’s in play and what’s out of play. I’d hate to see him lose the Brownlow Medal — I’m not saying he’s going to win the Brownlow Medal — on that account.”
Brown argued for the eradication of one-week suspensions.
“I actually think there shouldn’t be one-week suspensions in our game,” Brown added. “I think we’re too suspension-happy.
“The game’s incredibly difficult to play and we make mistakes out there because the game’s so fast and guys get suspended for it.
“I think we should scrap the one-week, (there) should be heavier fines … because then that gets rid of those ticky-touch ones where you go ‘that bloke got a week and then he lost the Brownlow Medal’. I don’t think we’d have that problem then.”