westozfalcon wrote:Last year didn't the AFL decree that any contact with an opponent's head was going to be worth 4 weeks?
Soon after the announcement they made an example of Michael Johnson of Fremantle by giving him 4 weeks for accidental head contact in the NAB Cup.
It seems that as a non-marquee player from an unfashionable club, Johnson represented an easy target for the AFL to prove their tough stance.
Somewhere along the line it seems a superstar clause has been drafted into the guidelines so the game's blue chip players have a way of escaping suspension.
It's a fair question you raise WOF, but rather than copping a larger suspension for being "lesser lights", I reckon Johnson and Stokes copped their heftier penalties more because the AFL would have been trying to send a message with the first offences.
