Former West Coast player Hamish Brayshaw has taken aim at the AFL Tribunal and Match Review Officer process for its flaws in adjudicating appropriate findings for suspendable actions.
Penning an open letter to the AFL, revealing his frustrations, Brayshaw has declared the Tribunal and MRO as a "joke" and has pleaded with the league to fix the current system.
Speaking on the Backchat podcast, the younger brother of past Melbourne player Angus - who prematurely retired due to a concussion following a controversial incident in last year's qualifying final, was forthright in outlining the match review system's recent contentious calls, saying it's "destroying the game.
“The tribunal and match review panel are single-handedly destroying the game. You are making it impossible to play in good spirit, you're making it impossible to adjudicate and you're not far off making it impossible to support,” Brayshaw said.
The Eagles midfielder said the league, despite its continuous remarks about protecting the head, were inconsistent with how they delivered verdicts, basing it more on outcome than intent or action.
“Protect the head at all costs, obviously unless a head knock is as a result of a football act, but then it depends on how hard you get hit in that football act and if the player had any other alternatives," Brayshaw continued.
“But also the player needs to take into account the potential to cause harm, but of course it shouldn't depend on the outcome of the opponent, unless of course it does result in a concussion.
“Really it all boils down to protecting the head because we're seeing more players retire from concussion than ever before, but we will still let a guy play next week after punching someone in the face in the goal square because it wasn't hard enough to hurt them.”
Citing specific suspensions including Essendon forward Peter Wright's four-game ban for rough conduct and Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson's three-game ban by the AFL for a homophobic remark, Brayshaw was baffled how penalties can be judged so differently.
“Peter Wright and Toby Greene, 4 weeks and 1 week respectively for football acts with not a whole lot of difference,” he said.
“Jeremy Finlayson got less than Peter Wright for a homophobic slur which once again highlights that nobody at the AFL really knows what's happening at the tribunal, you just make it up as you see fit.
“We've heard enough about Charlie Cameron being let off for being a nice guy but Tom Barrass can't escape a week for the same thing.”
Brayshaw also drew attention to the incident that involved his brother and Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard, who was referred directly to the Tribunal for a careless conduct, severe impact and high contact charge, which was ultimately overturned.
"You (AFL) certainly didn't care all for the outcome there and Brayden went on to win a premiership. That is precedence," an aggrieved Hamish said during the podcast.
“That was as big a defining moment for the tribunal as I can remember, and you went with protecting the sanctity of the game over the protection of the player. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with that, but it is breaking me that you are constantly backflipping on that stance.”