Michael Christian to replace AFL match review panel under new judiciary system
The fate of AFL players will lie in the hands of one person in 2018, one of many changes that new footy boss Steve Hocking has introduced to the AFL's judiciary system, stamping his authority on one of the most polarising issues in the game.
Collingwood premiership player Michael Christian will be the lone ranger of the revamped MRP.
In his role as the single decision-maker, Christian will liaise directly with Hocking, who will tick off on each incident.
Under the new system, clubs will incur a cost of $10,000 for an unsuccessful challenge at tribunal level, instead of the previous system where players would risk missing an extra week
If the system had been in place for last year, Geelong would have almost certainly challenged the one-match ban handed to superstar Patrick Dangerfield for his tackle on Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer, which rendered him ineligible for the Brownlow Medal.
The $10,000 cost will come under the club's soft cap but will be returned by the AFL if the tribunal appeal is successful.
In another major win for fans and players alike, incidents that occur during Thursday and Friday night matches will be reviewed quickly and a decision will be handed down within 24 hours.
Hocking has confirmed that the AFL hopes to implement the 24 hour rule for all games in the coming years.
As per previous years, a player's conduct will still be categorised as intentional or careless, with both the impact and contact then to be taken into account.
While the table system of the match review panel is ultimately the same, the early-plea discount for number of weeks has been removed and fines for low-level offences have been doubled.
The base sanction for a first offence fine will be $3000, $5000 for a second offence and $8000 for a third and subsequent offences.
A player's "bad record" has also been removed, however, it may still be used at the discretion of the tribunal if Christian sends a incident directly to them.
Hocking, who admits the changes are bold, said there was never any consideration given to changing the system one step at a time.
"Nope. Rip the Band-Aid off," he said with a smile.
"My time in the role, I think it's really important to lead, so I think this is a statement of that. I'm OK with that.
"I know we won't have total agreeance right throughout, but that's my responsibility."
Clarity and consistency for fans was one of the biggest factors in the AFL's decision to alter the system, with the match review panel having been much maligned over the years.
The second major factor was players missing weeks for low-level offences.
"One of the big challenges for the fans is that there's been uncertainty when instances have been referred," Hocking said.
"And for the players, it's giving them the ability to play all the time, particularly with the low-level offences. We actually don't want players missing a game for really minor things.
"When one of their players is cited, can [clubs] start to read the outcomes of that? We want consistency.
"I think all of us would agree, you're never going to get it to 100 per cent but we're trying to shift it towards that with this model."
It's not the first time we've heard this line of thinking out of AFL House.
When Mark Evans took over from Adrian Anderson as football operations boss, he dissolved the points system on the basis that too many players were missing games for minor incidents.
That same system has now been revised again for the same reasons, which will be viewed as extremely favourable for the players.
But Hocking was adamant that his department would not be soft on violent incidents, which he described as a "blight" on the game.
"We want the players to change their behaviour," Hocking said.
"We need the players to get back to a greater understanding of sportsmanship."
The four former match review panel members – Nathan Burke, Jimmy Bartel, Michael Jamison and Jason Johnson – will all be given the opportunity to sit on the tribunal throughout season 2018.
More detail here including table
