The AFL handed Josh Green a $1,000 fine after his pathetic performance against Geelong on the weekend, but they should have gone harder and given him a whack to match the dive he took, banning him for at least two weeks.
If he says he's been hit then hit him, and hard.
I say it was ‘pathetic’ not for the quality of the acting, though it was genuinely woeful, but for the light it casts the game’s image in.
Staging for frees and penalties in soccer is so common that it’s become an enjoyable part of the game, something to lighten and liven up what is usually a dull contest, and the diving compilations on YouTube are a crack up if you play that Yakety Sax from the Benny Hill Show in the background.
Josh Green has accepted a $1000 fine for staging: https://t.co/YUt9Q1NGfJ pic.twitter.com/Ut1e82cTOt
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) March 13, 2018
But Australian rules doesn’t need this crap, doesn’t want this crap and should go as hard as possible to get this crap out of the game before it has any chance of getting a foothold.
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In reality it’s unlikely to ever become widespread as the contest is too fast, tough and consuming for the players to think about acting, but then guys like Josh Green don’t tend to be fully committed to the contest and so he has time to go over his lines in his head while everyone else is chasing the ball. In fact even when he’s chasing it he’s thinking about manipulating the rules rather than winning the pill, as he showed against Richmond last year.
Jayden Short was penalised for a deliberate rushed behind which gifted Josh Green an easy goal. #AFLTigersDons pic.twitter.com/iJRtgjk2QN
— AFL (@AFL) May 27, 2017
Our game is watched in awe around the world by people who can’t believe the speed and contact, and the fact players don’t wear any padding, but chuck in one piss-poor performance like Green’s and it becomes a joke. All of a sudden no one remembers the big hits and high marks, just the little redheaded twerp going down like a poorly paid extra in a B-grade Hong Kong martial arts flick.
And speaking of ‘rangas, Clayton Oliver’s effort against the Eagles last year wasn’t much better, although to his credit Will Schofield did at least make contact. I can’t believe I said “to his credit”, it was embarrassing!
Eagles defender Will Schofield has been reported for this incident involving Clayton Oliver. #AFLEaglesDees pic.twitter.com/vpDFZHbAFJ
— AFL (@AFL) June 24, 2017
It may seem over the top to some to hand out harsher penalties to guys who haven’t been hit than those sometimes issued for giving a bloke a whack, but the divers do more damage to the AFL than the hitters.
Our game sells itself on toughness – not dirtiness and I’m not encouraging a free-for-all whackfest (don’t Google that term if you’re at work). It’s a game for men and women that want to go hard at the contest and take the consequences, however they come.
Ultimately the game is going to be done a lot more damage by diving divas than by a thumping right roundhouse, and actors like Green should be dealt with harshly, even if it makes him cry.
