Former St Kilda coach, Scott Watters, joined SEN WA Breakfast to dissect his thoughts on the latest Tribunal findings and how it is entering dangerous territory.
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SEN WA Breakfast
Scott Watters' Reaction to Tribunal News Reaction (17/07/2024)
Oh, that's a tough one. I mean, I was right there as a player and I obviously didn't know the outcome of what happened to Duggan, but I thought it was the perfect tackle. And, you know, I was telling him he was a bit rattled by it, um, instantly a bit I always said, and the umpire, whatever I'm saying at the time, that it was a perfect tackle. So, it's a, it's a very harsh, um, penalty, but I mean, what do you do? It's hard to, um, as a player these days, like personally, like I go into tackles now, worried about what's, what the outcome's going to be. Um, so you're very hesitant in what you're doing and I feel like that's going to impact everyone across the competition, because guys are going to potentially hold back a little bit and I don't know if that's what we want. Oh, well, I personally don't think you can do much different because, you know, you're coming forward to put some pressure on and, you know, he gets the ball and, um, unfortunately he gets concussed in the tackle, but, well, as a player, we run out there every week knowing well and truly that you can get hurt. Brisbane's Josh Dunkley talking about the three weeks suspension for Charlie Cameron. Here's Toby Green on his reaction to his team mate, Toby Bedford's three week band. Oh, when I first saw it on the day, uh, I remember I was standing next to Nathan Broad and having a discussion about it. We saw the replanes, I thought, well, if Tim's, if Tim's concussed, then they might give it a week and, and then you probably challenge it. And, um, Broady was sort of accepting of that and said that it probably, he goes, oh, he goes, oh, I think he'll be alright for that one. So that was what we thought initially on the day. And then once he got three weeks, it just doesn't seem right. Doesn't seem right to me. Um, he's just making it a legitimate play on the, on the tack on the, on Tim who has the ball is. I just don't think he has any other option. Toby Green's reaction to the Toby Bedford suspension. So they're upheld last night. That also a Valax Davies of the Gold Coast. Scottie. What is this talking? All things footy thanks to Sonos multi room listening wireless home theater. And more Scotty. What's your, what, welcome first and foremost and what's your reaction to those suspensions being handed out of the tribunal last night? Oh, it's mind blowing really. Um, it's time for the AFL coaches and, and players to, to, in the end of this year, there needs to be a summit where ultimately those groups are coming together to open some communication around how the laws are being set. How they're being implemented by employers, which is almost impossible, but most importantly, there is now confusion amongst coaches and players on how they actually can, um, in, in some way stick to these laws that have been said it is impossible for players. You know, they are doing the, I think the players have done an amazing job this year on making some adjustments to holding players in, in tackles and not slinging them to the ground. I think they've done an excellent job of. Doing that, but this has now got to a point where it's, it's frustrating for players and coaches and coming next to be done. It is. And, uh, and I was listening to Kane Corns on the drive in this morning and he just said to have a prosecutor saying, Oh, well, you should release one arm that clearly hasn't played the game. And that's the issue. We've got people who are arguing on behalf of the AFL for these sanctions to be upheld lawyers, lawyers who don't understand the, the workings of a game in the heat of battle. It just doesn't make sense that we can have those conversations. No, you just spot on. I mean, I think when, when things go wrong between the AFL, the game and the players, it's where bureaucrats get involved in administration, gets involved and they have no feel for what actually happens. So if you look over the last 10 or 20 years, the amount of communication that's been able to occur between players, coaches and umpires becomes has become less and less and less. Now, I understand initially it's making sure that umpires are protected and they should be, you know, it's such an important role in the game. But where there's lack of communication and lack of consultation, there ends up being issues and we've now got issues where the game, it's not unpirable for one of a better word. It's certainly not possible for players to deliver on what the AFL edict is. So it's time to come together with some common sense. Sitting underneath all of these guys, as we know, is the concerns and the litigation concerns around concussion, which needs to still be paramount. But ultimately, we've got a game now that can't be played by the players. They cannot do a better job than what they're doing right now. Well, I scoffed at this. I reckon it was brought up last year. And again, this year we had a text about it the other day about the AFL will eventually take out the hanger because if you need goes up into the back of someone's head and you knock them out, it's a problem. Now, I'm an alarmist, but have you got concerns about our game, Scotty? Look, I think the game is in a really, it's been an interesting stage for a while and there's two mitigating factors that are changing the shape of that game. One is, tactically, what's been allowed to happen over 10 to 20 years now with so many players in one portion of the ground, right? It's changed what the game looks like. It's changed the types of players that we've got playing. And it's actually aesthetically, the game, I always go back to, you know, Peter Matera, 92 grand final bouncing down the wind, kicking, you know, three or four goals. That doesn't occur anymore because the tactically, the game has changed. So that's one side of it. And then the other thing that is now changing the whole fabric of the game is we are jumping at shadows around the litigation concerns around concussion and injury to players. I'm all four players being 100% safe or as safe as they can be in a contact sport, but there is always going to be an inherent risk of playing a contact sport. But I feel like we're now jumping at shadows and really changing too much of the game is changing. If I was a player now or if you're a player now, you would be putting your hands in the air, not knowing what to do. Do I tackle? I can't bump. The bumps, you know, that's gone. I can't tackle now. I can't tackle someone to the ground. So the game is just changing before our eyes. And I think I think the frustration as a supporter and someone who's been around the game for 40 or 50 years is these decisions are made on the run and they're very reactive. Isn't it time that we sat down and planned out like any good business would plan? What do we want the game to look like and how do we as custodians of the game protect it for the next 10, 20, 30 years? It needs to be much longer term decision-making and it's very reactionary, knee-jerk reaction to whatever happens on one weekend. It's short term thinking and it's not good enough. I think there'll ever be a time. It'll ever get to a stage where we go a little old school and, you know, there were times where you say you enter at your own risk. You think there'll be a time where players are asked and they'll have a form to sign and say we will do everything possible to keep you safe and to make sure that our best medical practices are in place at all occasions. But you do play this game at your own risk or do you think they'll have too big a detrimental effect on players coming through and parents allowing players to play footy? Oh, that's a really big question. But isn't there a risk in any context sport? There is always a risk. So whether that now needs to be, you know, are we going to get to the point where we're signing away? There's maybe. But, you know, unless because the option, I mean, I don't know how you take the combative contact nature out of Australian rule football and still remains Australian rule football. So I'm all for duty of care. The players are amazing and it takes a lot of courage to get out on a you know, on a field where you've got, you know, 40 bodies running around in tight confined spaces. However, there's always going to be contact. You're never going to mitigate completely against some of those challenges that are going to occur. So I can see it's got it. I can see a time when in a players contract, you've actually got to accept, you know, it's signing away. You know, ultimately before I have to go and compete knowing that there is risk in this type of game.