Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon has called for the AFL to appeal Shaun Burgoyne’s MRO verdict, after the Hawthorn veteran escaped with a fine after a dangerous sling tackle on Patrick Dangerfield.
The fine was handed out to Burgoyne on Saturday, with the ‘low impact’ grading seeing him receive a fine, rather than a suspension.
“The AFL should come out this morning and say: We the AFL are appealing the decision that was handed down by the MRO,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“We don't think it is consistent with how we see the concussion issue in footy. That was dangerous anyway you look at it and it was only lucky that Dangerfield didn't incur a much more serious head injury.
“One arm was held in tight and it was a severe sling tackle into the turf. Now that is an absolute definition of what we want to get out of our game and yet the AFL, they talk the talk, they don’t walk the walk when it comes to this and concussion and that is a very poor decision and they should appeal it today.
“I genuinely believe it and I’m staggered. I thought it was a two-week suspension and I’m stunned.”
Dangerfield got up and played out the game in Geelong’s 10-goal win over Hawthorn.
The inconsistency of the MRO on sling tackles is curious, after Carlton midfielder Will Setterfield was suspended for two weeks for a similar sling tackle in 2019.
Yesterday I mentioned Setterfield's tackle against Gold Coast as a barometer for Burgoyne's punishment. Here's a comparison of the two. Setterfield copped two weeks for his, whilst Burgoyne got away with a $1000 fine. Why? #AFL pic.twitter.com/QADm4Gk9ue
— Jack Alfonso (@jackalfonso98) June 13, 2020