I think that's weak. If they didn't believe in the charge they shouldn't have laid it. If they do, they should be using every avenue to get the verdict they believe in.
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Greene has been really lucky in some instances (Dahlhaus karate kick, Bont eye gouge) but ridiculously unlucky in others (the week after the Bont eye gouge where he missed a Prelim for fleeting contact to the face that was barely a quarter of what he did 7 days earlier, the glancing touch of the umpire in that final a few years ago where he copped a huge bag of weeks) - he's copped overs in these other instances because of who he is and not what he's done in those instances.
Had he done what Maynard did, and flown airborne to smother an oncoming ball and cannoned his shoulder into a players face knocking him unconscious for 2 minutes, I doubt very much he would be getting the "good bloke" get out of jail treatment. Nor would a Steven May douchebag type either for that matter. And if it was Nick Daicos knocked unconscious for 2 minutes as a direct result of an opposition smother attempt, I doubt very much that the feral unwashed filth fans, who haven't shut up since Thursday night, would have shown the same care and support for the person who knocked Daicos out.
And Chris Grant won the Brownlow voting, denied for far less.
Fact is Maynard threw himself like a missile without care for Brayshaw.
The AFL argued he threw himself like a flailing frisbee without regard for opponent.
This.
Like Greene with Dahlhaus, Maynard is skilled and hard with his body.
Both knew what they were doing, Greene deliberate and malicious, Maynard hard and careless resulting in knock to head and concussion to major player.
That's ok says fools.
I repeat Chris Grant's brownlow.
Liam Picken suing I think.
Yeah I'm happy to concede the 2 in 19 thing, although I still think 1 example in 18 years (of which wasn't an overly malicious or premeditated one) is pretty strong evidence that players aren't gonna suddenly become thugs because they can't miss the next final.
Regardless no one else seems interested in either of my two "solutions" so I'll move on.
This is a very un Bulldogs like opinion on Greene. Cant say I agree, his second eye gouge was as dumb as it gets when you consider he basically got a "just don't do it again" warning after Bont, and his attempt at umpire intimidation was worth every week he got.
As if the media, who is super invested in both the "Greene is the hardest done by of all players", and "Greene has completed his redemption arc", would not go in full defence Moe for him if he did the Maynard thing.
As for Collingwood fans being hypocrites, we know this. Look at the vitriol Henry has copped as simultaneously they cheered Bobby Hill for making a very similiar decision.
If individual tribunal cases are supposedly judged on their merits (as we are always told), you can be both dumb and unlucky. Greene was both IMO - super dumb for doing something similar the week after the Bont incident but very unlucky that the contact threshold was considered enough (it wasn't/shouldn't have been, as has been proven on many occasions since with numerous players avoiding contact to the face suspensions, who unlike Greene were granted a far more generous threshold interpretation.
Also with regard to Greene, you can both dislike a player and also admire their football ability - I used to despise him a few years ago (when I cared more about the game), but these days it is his immense football ability and talent that speaks volumes, with the dirty stuff basically eliminated. So yes, there's an obvious redemption arc with Greene and frankly it is deserved - he most likely realised after the sledgehammer suspension he copped for umpire contact that he was a marked man and had to change his attitude, and he has become an amazing footballer and an elite leader of his club ever since (without losing that competitiveness to never lose a one-on-one contest, just removing the dog act stuff). There would not be a single Dogs supporter (if they are being honest) who wouldn't want Greene and his ultra-competitive attitude and elite talent wearing our jumper.
Back on Maynard/Collingwood, they might have won the battle but there are no winners out of this if Brayshaw's career ends prematurely (which is a real possibility). And if that happens, Maynard's carelessness has directly resulted in an elite player's career ending - no amount of back-slapping and good bloke defence will prevent that from entering his head constantly for the rest of his career.
If Picket gets rubbed out for the bump on Cripps then he system is a farce.