How to fix the AFL MRP

Reece Conca
Since it's overhaul in 2005, the points grading system has been a source of frustration for fans and players that have no idea how it works.

It's time to scrap the complication, and keep it simple with honest judgement.

The answer is to introduce a panel of 10 footy experts, consisting of former players, umpires, and administrators, which can deliberate on incidents and cast their votes without the constraint of gradings and carryover points.

Sure, a serial offender should be punished harshly, but it shouldn't determined with a calculator.

Simply through weight of numbers, having as many as 10 unhindered opinions, which are formed on strict AFL guidelines, will remove the current inconsistencies. 

Players found guilty of offences that don't warrant a suspension should be fined, with the proceeds going towards fixing match ticket prices.

Under the current system, the panel makes judgements on:

* The intention of the act (accidental/incidental, negligent, reckless or intentional)
* Where the contact occurred (head, groin or body)
* How forceful the contact was (negligible, low, medium, high or severe) with activation points assigned to each judgment. From these activation points an offence level is determined (from a scale of one through five).
* Base demerit points are then assigned to the player based on the type of offence charged with as well as the offence level determined by the MRP
* A player receives a week’s suspension for every 100 demerit points and any residual points are carried over for the next year
* Players are also eligible for discounts for early guilty pleas and previous good records, as well as receive loadings for carry over points and bad records
* If a player does not accept the ban, they take their case to the AFL Tribunal


The problem is that two different incidents that are identical in nature can have vastly different rulings.

Counting demerit points only muddies the water, and heavily penalises men who play a high-adrenalin contact sport.

A motorist who returns separate alcohol readings of 0.01 five times within a year does not go to jail. So  a bloke who lays heavy bumps three times within a season should not be rubbed out.  

Take Jack Ziebell's 2012 hip and shoulder against Aaron Joseph.




Ziebell was suspended for four weeks.

Within a month, Lenny Hayes escaped sanction for this bump on Geelong's Taylor Hunt.



This example is part of an endless list of mind-boggling MRP decisions.

The AFL needs to make sweeping changes and they need to be made now to end what is a blight on the game.

Have a few blokes ticking boxes and deciphering reckless and intentional and Daniel Merrett is cleared for a brutal cheap shot.

Use a broader panel of sound footy minds and he'll cop his fair whack every time.   
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