Heeney ban upheld as Cripps calls for review of Brownlow eligibility; Gawn ‘can’t walk’ but sets bold target for return

Heeney also stated that he was unable to see Webster as he was focused on getting away from being held to create enough distance to receive the ball from teammate Justin McInerney.

AFL counsel Andrew Woods submitted that Heeney would have seen Webster, if not directly, then certainly in his peripheral vision as he jostled for position.

“The position of his head was clear to you at least in your peripheral vision,” Woods said.

“I don’t recall seeing his head in my peripheral vision,” Heeney replied.

Swans counsel Duncan Miller SC argued that Heeney’s actions were completely inconsistent with an intentional strike, given he immediately expressed concern for his opponent, who suffered a bloody nose in the incident.

“If the intent was to hit, he (Heeney) would have scampered straight on the lead, he wouldn’t have stopped and you can see him almost lowering down (to check on Webster). That is completely inconsistent with the intention of trying to intentionally strike,” Miller said

Miller also referenced Heeney’s strong disciplinary record, highlighting that in 193 games in the AFL, he had only been fined twice, in 2018 and 2022.

AFL Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson KC and the panel ultimately disagreed, stating: “The swing of Heeney’s arm was forceful and it was more than a swatting motion, having looked carefully at the vision, we find that it falls comfortably within the language of clause 4.3b of the guidelines in that he was intending to forcefully push or fend off Webster, to gain separation for the purpose of contesting the ball ... We are not satisfied that he intended only to make contact with Webster’s head.”

Heeney’s contact with Webster was originally graded by match review officer Michael Christian as intentional, high and low-impact in last Sunday’s two-point loss.

Meanwhile, the Swans have received a boost with the return of their captain Callum Mills, who will play his first game of the season against North after recovering from a calf and shoulder injury.

Mills has been sidelined since tearing his rotator cuff in a Mad Monday incident last year and last played for the Swans in the 2023 elimination loss to Carlton.

Mills has been co-captain at the Swans since 2022, and was named the club’s sole captain for the first time at the start of this season, despite his long-term injury.

Cripps calls for review of Brownlow eligibility rules

Peter Ryan
Carlton champion Patrick Cripps says the AFL should consider changing the eligibility rules for the Brownlow Medal at season’s end as Sydney midfielder Isaac Heeney’s one-match ban for striking St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster was upheld.

Heeney is one of the favourites to win this year’s medal and his suspension was for an incident that would have earned a fine in previous years. Any player suspended for at least one match is ineligible to win the Brownlow, with 27 players already ineligible to win the 2024 medal.

Cripps, who won the 2022 Brownlow Medal after his two-match suspension for rough conduct on Brisbane Lions utility Callum Ah Chee was overturned by the AFL appeals board, said changes in the game meant a review was warranted.

“It’s a tough question. It’s obviously been a rule that has been around since [awarding the medal] started [in 1924],” Cripps said before Heeney’s ban was upheld on Tuesday night.

“[With] how we are protecting the head and [looking at] little incidents, I feel like it’s definitely something that needs to be reviewed at the end of the year.

“You would hate to see someone like Isaac [Heeney] miss out on a chance [to win one]. He has had a great year. He is a great player and I feel like he plays the game the right way.”

Cripps, who has polled at least 20 Brownlow Medal votes in four of his 10 completed seasons, will play his 200th game on Saturday against the Western Bulldogs in a crucial match for both teams.

Gawn ‘can’t walk’ but sets bold target for return from ankle injury

Danny Russell
Melbourne skipper Max Gawn is determined to defy medical advice and return from a bone chip in his ankle after just one game on the sidelines.

Gawn chipped the base of his right fibula against West Coast on Sunday and club doctors have told the ruckman he is a 95 per cent chance to miss at least the next two weeks – against Essendon at the MCG on Saturday night and then Fremantle in Perth the following week.

But Gawn, who was still in a moon boot and using crutches to walk on Tuesday, said he would focus on returning for the Dockers clash in round 19.

“I’ve never had this injury. Not many people have to be honest – a little chip in the bottom of the fib,” he said.

“But I’m very bullish whenever I get a target. So let’s say it’s two to three, which is what they’ve told me, I’m always trying to beat that, and that’s what I’ll try and do.

“I can’t honestly tell you that I’ll beat that because I currently can’t walk.

“Hopefully within the next day or two I’ll be able to walk around and whatnot, and then I can try and push the envelope and see if I get back as quickly as I can.”

Gawn said he would help out the coaching panel on game day against Essendon, but was still unclear who would replace him in the ruck to tackle big Bomber Sam Draper.

“Draper is in some serious form,” Gawn said. “I am not sure what they’ll do in terms of their ruck combination yet, but the game he played on the weekend against Darcy Cameron was really telling,” he said.

“So whoever’s got the job [for us], it is going to be tough.”

Gawn said he would back-in Brisbane Lions recruit Tom Fullarton if he were selected to make his Melbourne debut against the Bombers.

“He came across and started really, really well, and then unfortunately did his hammy at training, but he was winning, we do multiple internal awards in pre-season, and he was winning the majority of them,” Gawn said.

“To be honest, he was testing me out there in January, and then unfortunately, he did his hammy leading into that round zero game and the [selection] nod went to Josh Schache, but I daresay if he was fully fit, he might have been debuting in that first game.

“Look, there are multiple different ways they could still go. If it is with Fullarton, I’d back him in.”

The Melbourne skipper, speaking at the launch of the club’s annual Round for Reach – to raise funds for the organisation co-founded by the late Jim Stynes in 1994 – said his side was focused on making the finals. The Demons sit 10th, out of the eight on percentage.

“I think every side we play from now on is around us on the ladder. So they’re all eight-point games, which makes it very exciting,” he said.

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