Gaff's punch should result in 12-week suspension: Whateley

It was a weekend of moments and images, a quite extraordinary collection with such far reaching consequences.

From Gary Ablett’s miss at the climax of Friday night, through to James Worpel out-foxing Michael Hurley, Cam Rayner’s rush of blood, Josh Jenkin’s snap which way or may not have hit the post, and Tom McCartin’s kick while lying on the ground.

They will occupy our minds and our conversations as they should on a Monday.

For all the good of the weekend, the dominant incident is the Andrew Gaff punch, which broke the jaw of Andrew Brayshaw.

There is a rule of football that will be tested tomorrow night at the tribunal and there are community standards that must play a significant role.

This is the worst type of incident that can happen on the field in modern football – an unprovoked violent punch.

In 2008, the Barry Hall punch resulted in a seven-week suspension.

Our community attitudes towards the coward punch have hardened drastically across the ensuing decade to such an extent that if this happens in the street or in the work place, there’s a prevailing sentiment that such a punch should result in a jail sentence.

Think about last week’s unprovoked assault in Frankston, the search for the assailant and the outrage when the man was granted bail.

In this environment, seven weeks at a football tribunal doesn’t cut it anymore.

This is not about character, it’s about action and consequence - the consequences for Andrew Brayshaw are drastic.

In 2018, that action on a football field should result in a 12-week suspension, and there’s a serious question for Western Australian police as to whether they should be involved.