‘Let footy down’: 35 AFL stars who can get out of jail free, as five past Cameron acts revealed

After Charlie Cameron escaped his one-game MRO sanction in exceptional circumstances on Tuesday night, the door of precedent has opened to 35 AFL veterans who could use a similar defence at the Tribunal if necessary.

The livewire Brisbane forward was slapped with a one-match suspension after dumping ex-teammate Jake Lever in a dangerous tackle, but his legal team was able to vacate the charge based on Cameron’s “exemplary” record.

However, despite being said to possess a clean bill across 207 AFL games, Cameron’s five previous Match Review indiscretions don’t quite match that sentiment.

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And now, going forward, it would seem any player with similar on and off-field credentials to Cameron’s can escape a short ban at the Tribunal — opening a worrying can of worms, particularly considering the current climate regarding concussion.

One day on from the eyebrow-raising verdict, Herald Sun Chief Football Writer Mark Robinson voiced his sentiment.

“I feel that the AFL Tribunal has let footy down today,” Robinson said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

“In a lot of ways, I think the AFL has done a disservice to the game by not appealing … We might have some laughable situations later in the year.

“On a serious note, I think most people in football (wouldn’t) just (be) shaking their head, they’re bewildered … We’ve all been conditioned to understand that dangerous tackles are out, and now it’s back in the mix.”

AFL 360’s Gerard Whateley was critical of Tuesday night’s developments.

“(It’s) a garden variety dangerous tackle where the facts were proven, the specifics were proven,” he said.

“Then it’s just too abstract, it’s too esoteric to use what happens off the field to downgrade medium impact to low impact in a dangerous tackle.

“I think there are some cases where character would play a role. This isn’t one of them. Not a garden variety dangerous tackle for a one-week suspension.

“It is also worth a bit of rigour, I think, the ‘good record’ (argument).”

Whateley and Robinson proceeded to dissect the five fines Cameron has received in past years, ultimately concluding the star goalkicker was far from the “clean skin” he was made out to be at the Tribunal.

Cameron was first cited in Round 3, 2017 — fined for rough conduct on Port Adelaide’s Dan Houston.

“Late hit to the head,” Robinson said, reviewing the footage.

Added Whateley: “The cute little aspect of this is whenever Charlie does wrong, he goes and apologises almost straight away.”

In Round 7, 2017, Cameron was fined for striking North Melbourne’s Kayne Turner.

“This is a strike, lashing out at Kayne Turner,” Whateley said.

During Brisbane’s 2019 semi-final against GWS, Cameron was fined for rough conduct on then-Giant Zac Williams.

“A couple of years later, in a semi-final,” Whateley said. “I doubt you’re walking away with anything other than a suspension for that right now.”

In Round 9, 2020, for a third time Cameron was fined for rough conduct — this time on Essendon’s Marty Gleeson — before he struck Geelong’s Shaun Higgins in Round 2, 2021, and was again financially sanctioned.

“It was glibly said ‘207 games without suspension’, but that’s his actual record,” Whateley said.

“That’s not a clean skin. This is his sixth incident that has been graded and fined. At some point, you go ‘surely a suspension is in order’.”

The Herald Sun’s Jay Clark reported the AFL is under pressure to remove the ‘good character’ clause Brisbane successfully employed, with rival clubs baffled by the decision.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said on Wednesday the rule would be reviewed after the season and the league’s view was that a one-match suspension was warranted.

Until any such rule amendment, though, any one of the 35 never-suspended 200-gamers listed below could try their hand with Cameron’s defence if they’re summoned by the Tribunal at some stage this year.

THE ‘GOOD BLOKES’?

AFL 200-gamers who have not been suspended, numbers via the AFL:

Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood, 388 games)

Travis Boak (Port Adelaide, 352)

Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne/Essendon, 320)

Luke Breust (Hawthorn, 284)

Jack Darling (West Coast, 282)

Zach Tuohy (Carlton/Geelong, 274)

Brodie Smith (Adelaide, 252)

Mark Blicavs (Geelong, 251)

Brandon Ellis (Richmond/Geelong, 250)

Lachie Neale (Fremantle/Brisbane, 250)

Jack Gunston (Adelaide/Hawthorn/Brisbane, 244)

Dyson Heppell (Essendon, 240)

Bradley Hill (Hawthorn/Fremantle/St Kilda, 238)

Jeremy Howe (Melbourne/Collingwood, 237)

Adam Treloar (GWS/Collingwood/Western Bulldogs, 236)

Dane Rampe (Sydney, 234)

Jamie Cripps (St Kilda/West Coast, 233)

Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs, 233)

Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide, 232)

Jack Crisp (Brisbane/Collingwood, 231)

Rory Laird (Adelaide, 229)

Jake Lloyd (Sydney, 228)

Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs, 221)

Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs, 221)

Tom McDonald (Melbourne, 215)

Dion Prestia (Gold Coast/Richmond, 214)

Max Gawn (Melbourne, 209)

Charlie Dixon (Gold Coast/Port Adelaide, 208)

Will Hoskin-Elliott (GWS/Collingwood, 208)

Charlie Cameron (Adelaide/Brisbane, 207)

Stephen Coniglio (GWS, 207)

Seb Ross (St Kilda, 203)

Josh Kelly (GWS, 203)

Tom Mitchell (Sydney/Hawthorn/Collingwood, 201)

Rhys Stanley (St Kilda/Geelong, 200)