Dylan Shiel of the Essendon Bombers was handed a one-game ban for rough conduct on that basis. This decision came after a moment in a previous game when he accidentally hurt his teammate Luamon Lual. The push was the act that triggered the fatal chain reaction, as that hit on Mark O’Connor caused him to group Lual. The impact made Lual hit the ground at an odd angle, tumbling over top of himself and landing directly on his neck and shoulder.
Lual’s fall was alarming, but medical staff immediately attended to him on the sidelines. He came back into the match and played for a while before being replaced later in the match. This event ignited a tremendous outcry over the safety of players and the enforcement of league rules.
Tribunal Hearing Details
Shiel’s case took up only 66 minutes in tribunal hearing. Then, the panel continued to deliberate an additional 113 minutes before arriving at a just verdict. AFL counsel Nick Pane KC noted that the charge against Shiel “doesn’t fit neatly” within the league’s established gradings for such incidents. The nature of that charge makes it unique as it pertains to having a teammate being felled rather than an opposing player. This leaves practitioners wondering about the best way to approach cases like this.
Pane called the scene “a bit of the unusual,” and reflected the challenges in measuring what happened that day. The tribunal controversially upheld Shiel’s guilty plea, though found him guilty of rough conduct.
Reactions from Coaches and Players
Instead, Essendon coach Brad Scott would go on to complain about the Bombers’ triple punishment as a result of the incident. He argues that the penalties are disproportionate and unfair. He emphasized that his team was struggling. Not only did they need to contend with the situation with the free kick, but they were handling Lual’s injury and were preparing for a possible tribunal case.
“We have been penalised three times without the opposition actually being the victim, as far as I can see,” – Brad Scott
Other leaders in the AFL have joined the chorus condemning the incident. Paul Kingsley expressed his outrage at Shiel’s behavior, calling it “something [that] could have turned out really bad.”
“It was not conduct that a reasonable player would consider prudent,” – Renee Enbom
Shiel was horrified to see his teammate out cold on the turf following their battle for the ball. This moment really brought home to him the unforeseen consequences of what he was doing.
“After I contested and got the ground ball, I was quite shocked to see another teammate on the ground,” – Dylan Shiel
Implications for Player Conduct
The story raises is perceived player safety and player conduct in Australian Rules Football. Legal authorities and league administrators argue that current legislation largely fails to protect players on opposing teams. This makes for critical and complicated questions of how these regulations apply in contexts where they should be working alongside teammates.
We know that the AFL is not afraid to take controversial topics to challenge complicated, systemic issues. Players need to be constantly aware of their actions on the pitch and aware of how their play can negatively impact both their opponents and their own teammates.
