A tale of two football codes:
AFL:
Collingwood player Marley Williams is convicted in a court of law after he broke a man's jaw, and might go to jail. He awaits sentencing in April. Collingwood's response is to name him in the side to play this weekend. But after long discussions between the AFL, the AFL Players Union, as well as legal and health professionals, Marley Williams does not play - the public relations fallout might be a tad embarrassing. Perhaps Collingwood were arrogant enough to think they were above the law.
The AFL media then run a story of heartache, saying how devastated young Marley Williams is, and it morphs into a story of how he 'volunteered' to step aside.
Links
Rugby League:
There's an alleged punch up in a pub. A man has a possible damaged eye socket. But before it can be legally investigated, 20-year-old hooker Craig Garvey is named in the media. The St George Illawarra club look into it and Garvey is immediately stood down subject to further information. This is before any police report, or investigation. Garvey has not been charged yet, and he certainly hasn't been convicted of anything... ie we simply don't know if he is guilty or not.
It's an interesting contrast on how the two clubs handled the situation. Both St George and Collingwood have similar proud histories and both are known as having one-eyed passionate supporters, but when it comes to dealing with their respective player codes of conduct, the two clubs appear to be worlds apart.
I think Saints have done the right thing here. That is, to drop Garvey until further notice and wait for a proper investigation. With any luck the full story will come out and the kid will be back and wiser for the experience. Collingwood, on the other hand, seem quite content to name a convicted thug in their team.
We knock the NRL quite often and are critical of our own club quite regularly, but we are miles ahead of the AFL and Collingwood when it comes to doing the right thing. I know which team and football code I'd rather be following.
