West Coast midfielder Pat McGinnity was left scratching his head earlier this year when his sling tackle earned him a longer suspension than an opponent’s elbow to the face.
McGinnity copped a three-week ban when his tackle on Adelaide’s Bernie Vince in round 15 resulted in the Crows midfielder suffering a concussion.
In the same match, Adelaide’s Shaun McKernan escaped with a two-week suspension for a crude elbow to the face of Brad Sheppard after the Eagle had disposed of the ball.
North Melbourne coach Brad Scott and his Geelong counterpart and brother Chris Scott were among a large group of football experts who were left baffled by the soft penalty handed down to McKernan.
McGinnity, whose tackle wasn’t malicious in any way, was also left a tad confused.
“I did scratch my head a little bit and I know a lot of people did,” McGinnity said.
“But I had carryover points which probably made my penalty a little bit worse.
“I was probably initially surprised (I got suspended) because I didn’t give a free kick away at the time.
“But looking over it with a couple of people it’s probably fair enough that it got cited.
“The biggest thing was that the player was injured. He hit his head on the ground.
“I think if the tackle happened again and he had the ball and he didn’t get hurt, I think it might’ve been a little bit different.”
McGinnity is yet to play an AFL fixture since serving his suspension, but hopes to earn a recall for Sunday’s clash with Essendon at Etihad Stadium.