Heeney’s punishment is maintained, and Cripps demands that Brownlow eligibility be reviewed; Gawn “can’t walk,” but she has a big return goal in mind.
Isaac Heeney, a top player from Sydney, is only a game away from being the club’s first Brownlow medallist since Adam Goodes in 2006 after the AFL Tribunal upheld his one-game suspension on Tuesday night.
Heeney would be eliminated from consideration for the Brownlow if the Swans are unable to successfully contest the ruling before the AFL appeals board, which meets on Thursday night. Heeney would also be unavailable for Saturday’s match against North Melbourne.
The club unsuccessfully argued Heeney accidentally “swatted” Saint Jimmy Webster’s hands away to stop the defender from holding him as part of “forward craft”, rather than intentionally striking his opponent.
Heeney stated, “It’s forward craft to try and get that separation.”
“Knowing that he currently has two hands on me, I’m trying to swat them away. I’m attempting to swat his hand because, very plainly, I need to get as much distance as possible from him.
In addition, Heeney claimed that he was too preoccupied with escaping being pinned to notice Webster in order to gain enough separation to catch a pass from teammate Justin McInerney.
AFL attorney Andrew Woods said that Heeney would have seen Webster in his peripheral vision as he fought for position, if not directly.
At least in your peripheral vision, you could clearly see where his head was, according to Woods.
Heeney answered, “I don’t remember seeing his head in my peripheral vision.”
