Written by AFL Brisbane Lions Captain Dayne Zorko has promised not to dull his fire despite his recent suspension for the charge of intentional conduct, with low impact and high contact. The same charge was levelled at fellow AFL dynamo, Giants Toby Greene, who managed to narrowly avoid suspension but will have to wear a $2000 fine instead.
Zorko, who returns in time for the Brisbane’s blockbuster with Geelong at the Gabba this Thursday, simply says that “Incidents like that happen in football all the time. It was an accident. There certainly wasn’t any intention behind it. Every player wants to play on the edge, and at times you cross that line and you get found out unfortunately.”
Zorko acknowledges the struggle of all players to strike a balance between acceptable behavior and playing ‘close to that line’ to give the game their all. In expected form, Zorko has vowed to continue in his pursuit of playing ‘on the edge’.
In the case of Toby Greene, his temper got the better of him in the heat of battle. Greene has managed to just escape suspension for his hot-headed outburst during which he struck Carlton Blues player Nic Newman in Greater Western Sydney’s round 14 match. In a less than glowing day for Greene, he was also closely looked at after apparently breaking the cardinal rule and touching umpire Jacob Mollison. This fine contributes to an estimated tally of $30 000 in his ten-year career. Coach Leon Cameron was quick to defend his player afterwards, citing Greene’s passion for the game as the blame for his impulsive behavior.
“I love his passion, I love the way that he goes about his footy, I love the way he’s leading. There’s a lot of good things and a lot of right things going on with Toby Greene at the moment.” – Leon Cameron.
Cameron goes on to compliment Greene on his huge efforts to address his temper and improve on his overall demeanour. Greene himself describes the incident as ‘silly’ and promises to clean up his act.
Meanwhile in NFL earlier this month, State of Origin player for Queensland, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui had vowed that while he won’t pursue rival Payne Haas he has not ruled out the possibility of aggressive outbursts, despite the crackdown on high contact. Last year Fa’asuamaleaui and Haas made news when punches were exchanged in a spectacular stoush.
“The one-on-one battles, the grudges between two forwards, the rivalry between the likes of Paul Harragon and Mark Carroll everyone still talks about, are about to become a thing of the past,” – Andrew Johns.
Rugby league immortal Andrew Johns, a Rugby League veteran, bemoans what he considers a draconian crackdown on high contact and pronounces it a bad thing for football to shut down personal rivalries such as this one.
It must be a challenging thing to be charged with adrenaline and enthusiasm for the skirmish but to have to temper that heat to avoid breaching the established parameters of safe play. Temper tantrums and lashing out are certainly not a new thing in sports, there are countless examples of passionate athletes all over the world who have publicly ‘lost it’. How is it even possible to reign in such energy when it’s the energy that contributes to the quality and entertainment value of the event? This is especially difficult when beneath all the correctness in the code of conduct, there are factions within the sports, and the spectators, that are quite openly ‘spoiling for some action’. Its perhaps only with continual consistency in the application of fines and punishments, and in coaching and instruction, that the lessons can be learned and become interwoven into the culture of sports.
AFL: Lions skipper Dayne Zorko returns from suspension (news.com.au)
Big Tino won’t temper Origin aggression | The West Australian