Tigers challenge fines as Dangerfield says players punished enough
Richmond defenders Dylan Grimes and Nick Vlastuin will both challenge their staging fines at the tribunal, as Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield says players receive punishment enough for such incidents, including through abuse on social media.
Grimes and Vlastuin both said they received heavy abuse on social media from fans angry with incidents during Richmond's win over Essendon last Saturday night.
Dylan Grimes was awarded a free kick against the Bombers that saw an Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti goal overturned.Credit:Getty Images
Grimes was offered a $1250 fine as a second offence, after match review officer Michael Christian deemed he exaggerated the contact made by Essendon forward Jake Stringer, leading to an Essendon goal being overturned.
Vlastuin, meanwhile, was handed a $750 fine for a first offence for milking high contact made by Bombers ruckman Tom Bellchambers, which resulted in the premiership Tiger being awarded a 50-metre penalty.
According to the league's official guidelines, staging can include "excessive exaggeration of contact in an unsportsmanlike manner".
Grimes and Vlastuin will hand in written submissions in a bid to clear their names.
Though staging for free kicks has become an increasing point of debate this year, Dangerfield said the controversy was a "storm in a teacup" and that incidents had been overblown.
"It's been a part of sport as long as sport has been sport, regardless of whether it's AFL, basketball, soccer – it just exists. You would like that it didn't happen," he said on Tuesday.
"I am not going to sit here on my high horse and say I have never not done it because it's not true. So, I think sometimes these things are a bit of a storm in a teacup. You see a few examples and if there isn't a huge amount else happening in the competition at the time, that's the trend story that tends to last for seven, eight, nine days.
"I think there is a bit of that. I think Kevin Sheedy on The Front Bar said it best last week, when he was talking about staging – it's been around for years and years and this isn't something that's new."
Dangerfield said the current potential penalties – and personal abuse through social media – were enough of a deterrent.
"There are already penalties for staging incidents. There wasn't not too long ago. I am very comfortable where it sits now," he said.
"Players are already dragged across hot coals when they are open themselves with being on social media. It's a great way to engage your fans but they are also ridiculed when abused because of it. I think that's tough enough on our players as it is, let alone the sanctions they get from the AFL at different stages."
Meanwhile, the tribunal will sit again on Tuesday night to hear challenges from Port Adelaide's Sam Powell-Pepper and Geelong's Luke Dahlhaus.
Powell-Pepper's rough conduct charge was categorised as careless conduct with medium impact to the head.
Dahlhaus' dangerous tackle on Adelaide's Matt Crouch on Sunday was assessed as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.