FootyGoss :: All the Latest AFL and WAFL Breaking News

Lloyd bump a callous move

By Mr Dandalooa

Matthew Lloyd should play on at Essendon next season and the Bombers should be doing everything they can to convince him to do so, former Essendon captain James Hird reckons.

Hird’s comments came this week after the 2009 AFL season appears over for current captain Lloyd who faces a four-match suspension for rough conduct following his bump on Hawthorn’s Brad Sewell at the weekend.

“Those that say his best football is past him are right, but those that say he should retire are way off the mark.” Hird wrote in the Herald Sun newspaper.

“Matthew’s game on the weekend was not his best; he looked to be short of match practice and was second-guessing his leads and positioning.

“His best football is played out of the goal square and is based on instinctive leading, great hands and an accuracy in front of goals that is in the elite class.

“His bump on Hawthorn’s Brad Sewell - that, in my opinion, should have cost him at least two weeks on the sidelines, was reckless, but it also changed the game and swung the momentum in Essendon’s favour.”

The Bombers’ odds have gone out further for their Friday night elimination final against Adelaide, with ruckman Patrick Ryder receiving a one-match striking ban, but he could miss as many as two if he chooses to take his claim to the tribunal and fails to beat the charge.

According to Hird, however, he reckons Lloyd’s “initial intention was to win the ball”, but upon realising he was no chance, chose to make body contact.

The former Bombers legend goes on to say that it was contact that is outside the rules and will get him weeks, but it is not contact that called for the general hysteria that followed that evening and in the Sunday papers.

Really? I think having seen the media circus and scrutiny placed upon the rule following Buddy Franklin’s incident the week before that most players, especially experienced ones like Lloyd would be a little more vigilant leading up to the finals.

I believe that the Hawks have every right to feel aggrieved by Lloyds actions and that they should scream bloody murder at the tribunal following its treatment of Franklin last week.

While every club at one stage or another physically intimidates the opposition, what Lloyd did was uncalled for, undisciplined and could have been avoided.

Following the savage blow, the Hawthorn-Essendon match heated up, highlighting a volatile round where the match review panel handed out a total of 22 charges.

Hawthorn’s Sewell suffered concussion, a fractured cheekbone and a fractured eye socket from Lloyd’s impact, which led to at least 10 players to be charged with engaging in the melee that followed the bump.

After the match, Brown further inflamed the situation when he called Lloyd a sniper.

“Calling people snipers and protesting through the media is off the mark, and if Campbell Brown had an issue he should have dealt with it in the remaining 50 minutes of the game or the next time the two clubs played,” Hird said in the Herald Sun.

“Brown has won a lot of respect for the way he plays the game and he should let his actions do the talking.

“I, for one, can’t wait to watch how Brown goes about his game next time the two clubs meet. Hopefully, Lloyd will be there as the build-up will be great and Essendon need him in the team to continue to be a presence.”

One would hope that going into the finals, an experienced player integral to the team’s success would have the commonsense and discipline to avoid these situations.

Lloyd’s contact was callous and avoidable, let’s not kid ourselves otherwise.