Carlton captain Patrick Cripps is free to play against Melbourne on Saturday night following a dramatic hearing at the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday night.
Cripps had his two-match ban for rough conduct on Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee overturned after a marathon four-and-a-half-hour case.
It means the star Blue is now available for his side’s two remaining home and away games against the Demons and Collingwood.
Cripps’ high bump that concussed Ah Chee was initially graded as careless conduct, high impact and high contact.
David King says the game has “never been more lost” after Thursday night’s verdict.
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“It contradicts everything that we’ve been talking about for the last three to four years about protecting the head,” King said on SEN Breakfast.
“This, in my opinion, is not as a line ball as what others think.
“I was staggered by the AFL counsel Nicholas Pane last night. He said he was adamant a player could contest the ball whilst watching with eyes on the ball and still maintain the action of bumping an opponent – I think they’re two different things. You’re either contesting the ball or you’re bracing or bumping. They’re not the same. It’s very, very rare that you can contest for the ball and put a bump on at the same time because your arms tell you what you’re doing – are you bracing, are you ready for contact, or are you reaching for the ball?
“I think he got it wrong, I think Nicholas Pane got it wrong and he was beaten by the opposing case.
“I think the game’s never been more lost than what it is now – no one knows what dissent is, no one knows what holding the ball is, no one knows what protecting the head is anymore, no one knows what’s a fair contest and what isn’t, we’ve got no idea on basics of the game that we’ve always had a clear understanding of.
“We’ve never been more lost than what we are right now.”
King and SEN Breakfast co-host Kane Cornes further discussed the Cripps’ decision and the AFL’s handling of various rules and interpretations this season.
King: “To have a case flipped on legalities highlights the nightmare the AFL have had with all these things.
“Throw ducking and lowering your height (in tackles) in that as well. That’s bounced around all year.
“At the start of the year we were talking the stand rule and dissent. We’ve watered down everything over the next 20 weeks.
“Why don’t we hear from Brad Scott and those in charge at the AFL about protecting the head? Why don’t they put their head up and talk to us, the fans?
“Why don’t they? Because they’re worried about the legalities down the track. That’s why, that’s the facts.”
Cornes: “I’d love for the AFL to speak more. I’d love to hear more from the umpires.
“We need to know what the AFL’s response is to this decision.
“I’ve been a bit more lenient on the brace and football collisions than what you have, but I did this game and as soon as it happened, I said two weeks.
“He had the opportunity to go for the footy, he elected to bump, the guy has been concussed, we would all agree mostly that that’s two weeks. That was the way I saw it and that’s from someone who’s been more lenient than you.
“I was shocked when I saw that he got off.”
King: “Can we just make a decision to whether we are protecting the head, or we’re not and then work with that.
“Because I think we’re mixing and matching and waiting in the middle ground and not really raking a stance either way.
“Don’t tell us one thing at the start of the season and then four months later be completely at odds with that because we’ve got two weeks to go before a finals series and the captain of Carlton has been rubbed out.
“That’s just not the time to make these adjustments. Put your head up, come and tell us what’s going on with our game, because right now it’s a mess.
“The game itself, the way it’s played is fantastic. Clubs are putting on a great spectacle and show, but the rules and protecting the head are miles away from where they should be.”