As V'Landys and the NRL soared, the AFL has rarely looked as vulnerable

If you were a conspiracy theorist, you’d swear Peter V’Landys orchestrated the most physically brutal demonstration of rugby league at the exact moment the AFL was vulnerable on such a front.

Last night’s Origin decider didn’t worry about the sizzle… it was base, it was raw and it was punishing. Pummeling tackles, callous high shots, clear-the-benches brawls. Bruised, battered and bloodied combatants.

To the demographic pining for physicality and combat, the Origin decider put on a game to satisfy the genre.

V’Landys must have chuckled to himself as the punishment was dished out. It made the comparison unmissable… for better or for worse. That’s probably in the eye of the beholder.

The Aussie Rules battleground tonight is a legal theatre and the concept of the ‘reasonable player’.

The Tribunal has invented and imposed the notion of the ‘reasonable player’. That fictitious entity is a depiction of perfection. Making such precise decisions as to be impractical.

The actual players have stirred their association into action. The AFLPA stating:

Our members across the competition are genuinely confused as to what is and isn’t permissible in a tackle.

They are seeing what they consider to be reasonable tackles penalised based on the outcome of the tackle, and don’t believe what is being asked of them is reasonable in the moment.

So what’s the appropriate measure by which to judge the on-field action… the ideal of the ‘reasonable player’ or the reality of those who are playing the game right now?

I very rarely think appeals have much chance of success these days… but I can see the legal grounds by which success might be had tonight.

The Giants’ lawyers have to dismantle the idea of the ‘reasonable player’ and replace it with a practical standard.

And the Lions team has to show the Tribunal completely ignored the leg tangle and foot work of Charlie Cameron. Let’s see how the barristers perform.

These feel like the highest stakes judgments that will either enshrine where the AFL is driving the game or recognize where it actually is.