Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury has called for the introduction of a sin bin rule after round one of the AFL season was plagued by a pair of vicious head-high hits.
Melbourne’s player Kysaiah Pickett has copped a flurry of criticism for his brutal bump on Bulldogs star Bailey Smith.
The Demon’s player caught Smith right underneath the chin with his shoulder and absolutely floored the young player.
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He was placed on report and received a two-match burn as a result of the vicious collision.
In the same round, Sydney Swans star Lance Franklin was handed a one-match ban for rough conduct.
With the long-term impact of concussions becoming more apparent and a class action against the AFL underway, there have been calls for the league to do more to discourage such violent play.
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Pendlebury appeared on Triple M’s Marty Sheargold Show where he discussed the possibility of a sin bin rule, similar to the NRL’s ruling.
He claimed that the implementation of a sin bin would act as a strong deterrent for players and their foul play.
He said: "Watching the NRL, when that stuff happens, they get sin-binned and I don't mind that for our game.
"Say, if Pickett was to get sin-binned, it's a complete disadvantage. Now you play 17 v 18 for 10-15 minutes."
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The current process within the AFL sees players placed on report with the repercussions for their actions decided later on by the tribunal.
The tribunal also decides the punishment based on the perceived intention of the play and whether the victim was injured as a result.
However, Pendlebury believes this process needs to change for players who intentionally commit the offence.
"I think for years there's been a question around 'are we going to punish the outcome or the action?'," he said.
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"I don't agree with that. I think it should be the action that gets punished. They are not football actions.
"I think it's something we need to get rid of from our game but this chat has been going on for five, six years.
"We're getting there but there's still room to improve."
Topics: Australia Afl, Australia, Aussie Rules Football
Jayden Collins