GWS star Toby Greene will learn his finals fate for making contact with an umpire during a rare morning AFL tribunal hearing.
The dual All-Australian will front the tribunal at 9am AEST Tuesday, charged with making “intentional umpire contact” on whistleblower Matt Stevic during Saturday’s thrilling elimination final win against Sydney.
AFL tribunal cases almost always take place in the evening but the league has broken with convention due to GWS’ travel arrangements.
The Giants will fly out of Tasmania on Tuesday afternoon to Perth, where they will then prepare for Friday night’s semi-final against Geelong at Optus Stadium.
It is not the first time Greene has been involved in a tribunal saga during a finals series, with the dynamite forward missing GWS’ 2019 preliminary final win over Collingwood for making contact with Brisbane star Lachie Neale’s eye region.
His fate at the tribunal will in part hinge on evidence provided by the experienced Stevic around the nature of their interaction.
AFL rules state “contact with an umpire that is aggressive, forceful, demonstrative or disrespectful will be deemed intentional and the player will be directly referred to the tribunal”.
Greene has a long tribunal record that includes a $1950 fine eight years ago for reckless umpire contact.
Meanwhile, the umpire at the centre of the AFL’s most infamous player-official dispute has weighed in on Greene’s case.
Retired whistleblower Andrew Coates, who was pushed by Carlton star Greg Williams in 1997, believes Greene deserves a suspension.
Coates acknowledges there are differences between Williams’ case, which earned the dual Brownlow medallist a staggering nine-week suspension, and Greene’s conduct.
But the 283-game AFL umpire says players have to show greater respect to officials.
Like Stevic, Coates did not report Williams during the heat of battle.
“A little bit of surprise really to be honest, the way players conduct themselves these days, the game is completely different to near on 25 years ago,” Coates told SEN of his initial reaction to the Greene-Stevic incident.
“I thought that sort of thing would have been gone from the game.
“I didn’t feel unduly threatened (by Williams), but touching an umpire goes to the very fabric of the values of the game and if it’s not dealt with then the game falls apart.
“I think a suspension is obviously needed (for Greene) in the circumstance.”
AAP
