STEVE JOHNSON CLEARED TO PLAY LIONS
Ben Jensen 25 April 2012

STEVE JOHNSON was last night cleared to play in Geelong's clash with the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba this Saturday night, successfully defending a charge of rough play against Richmond skipper Chris Newman. Johnson was charged with two offenses following Sunday's win over Richmond, and received a combined one match ban. He chose to contest the charge that attracted the most demerit points in order to avoid a ban, accepting the charge of tripping which attracted 78 demerit points..

AFL 'prosecutor' if you like Michael Gleeson argued Newman didn't know he was going to be bumped by Johnson, and it was unreasonable to block him in the 'circumstances', ie. bump him rather than merely impede him by standing in his way. Gleeson said Newman was winded constituting sufficient force for a charge to be made. Maybe but Ian Findlay summed it up nicely by saying words along the lines of "IF this is the way footy is going we'll be here every week. Ridiculous to suggest this is rough conduct" and the umpires would have paid a free kick at the time if what Johnson did wasn't in the rules, and that it is an exercise in futility to suggest Newman wasn't expecting contact from an opponent.

Findlay's argument worked with Johnson getting off, free to play Brisbane at the Gabba this Saturday night, but keeping the 78 demerit points from the tripping charge he chose not to challenge. We dare say he would have got off that too, but had he failed would have got 104 points and a one week ban.

ORIGINAL AFL MEDIA RELEASE EXTRACT

The AFL wishes to advise the Match Review Panel has reviewed the weekend's matches. The following charges were laid:

Steve Johnson, Geelong, has been charged with a Level one engaging in rough conduct offence against Chris Newman, Richmond, during the first quarter of the round Four match between the Geelong Cats and Richmond, played at Simonds Stadium on Sunday April 22, 2012.

In summary, due to his previous poor record, his one-match sanction must remain at one game, even with an early plea.

Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from the Richmond Football Club, the incident was assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of four activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level one offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. He has an existing bad record of three matches suspended within the last three years, increasing the penalty by 30 per cent to 162.50 points and a one-match sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 121.88 points and a one-match sanction.

Steve Johnson, Geelong, has been charged with a Level one tripping offence against Daniel Jackson, Richmond, during the fourth quarter of the round Four match between the Geelong Cats and Richmond, played at Simonds Stadium on Sunday April 22, 2012.

In summary, he can accept a reprimand and 78 points towards his future record with an early plea.

Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from the Richmond Football Club, the incident was assessed as reckless conduct (two points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of four activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level one offence, drawing 80 demerit points and a reprimand. He has an existing bad record of three matches suspended within the last three years, increasing the penalty by 30 per cent to 104 demerit points and a one-match sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a reprimand and 78 demerit points towards his future record.

As there are two cases involving Steve Johnson from the one game, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FINAL PENALTY FOR JOHNSON, IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE CASES, WILL BE THE TOTAL OF ALL DEMERIT POINTS FOR ALL OFFENCES. For each 100 points, a one-match penalty must be served.

Trent West, Geelong, has been charged with a Level one engaging in rough conduct offence against Tv Vickery, Richmond, during the first quarter of the round Four match between the Geelong Cats and Richmond, played at Simonds Stadium on Sunday April 22, 2012,

In summary, due to a five-year good record, he can accept a reprimand and 70.31 points towards his future record with an early plea.

Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from the Richmond Football Club, the incident was assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points). This is a total of four activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level one offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. He has an existing five-year good record, which reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 93.75 points towards his future record and a reprimand. An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent to 70.30 demerit points towards his future record and a reprimand.