the inconsistent MRP.

The 4 points awarded to the Saints for the win against Geelong in round 13 has almost become unimportant after the findings of the tussle between Steve Johnson of Geelong and Steve Baker of St Kilda. The majority of the football world saw the tactics displayed by Steve Baker as within the rules and part of his style of play. Some expected Steve Baker to come under scrutiny for his gentle jumper punches and slaps but no one expected the verdict of the match review panel. They charged Baker with 4 different misconducts all totaling up to a 12 match suspension which can be reduced to be 9 with an early guilty plea.

The greater football community have their arms up in the air at the verdict. While the majority are sympathetic towards Baker, due to his horrendous black eye, the minority are virtually spot on when it comes to agreeing with the match review panel’s verdict. Any time a player strikes another player with enough force to cause shock and pain must be deemed reportable. Whether it be low grade, to the body or to the head, a strike is a strike. We do not want to see this game evolve into any such thuggery, which seems to be the norm in rugby league these days.

But the question now looms as to why make Baker the victim? Last week we saw Chris Judd become frustrated by Adam Mcphee’s tag and in the 3rd quarter let a loose fist fly and connect with Mcphee’s forearm. Now this is basically what Baker done to Johnson and he has copped a 3 week suspension for that individual offence. Another incident was last month between the Bombers and Tigers where Tayte Pears was coming back from a broken forearm injury and was matched up with Jack Riewoldt. Before the bounce had even occurred, Rielwodt walks next to pears and takes repeated punches at Pears’ previously injured arm. Tayte had a protective cast but still, Riewoldt has gone out of his way and landed punches on another player. Why didn’t the match review panel pull him up on this? Here lies the inconsistency of the match review panel.

Whether the offence be bumping, contact with an umpire or tripping, the MRP don’t seem to have any set guidelines. They merely tally up the points based on each case alone and hand out a suspension based on that merit. Steven Baker has been the made the victim here and it is unfortunate that we will be missing one of the competitions’ premier taggers until the finals series gets underway.