Franklin’s hit was off the ball; whatever we might think about Lynch his hit was in play. No argument could be mounted that Buddy’s hit was other than intentional. Doesn’t matter where he intended to hit Cotchin, his intent to hit is obvious . That’s all that is taken into account.
Take the one-match ban, treat it as a chance to rest a no-longer-young Buddy, and select the best team without him.
Ps: Buddy has always had a propensity to lose his cool when provoked, probably did it more often in his Hawthorn days when he was younger. Star players get a lot of ‘attention’ to which is understandably difficult not to react. Problem for Buddy is that he is so tall his retaliation hits or bumps often strike in the no-go area above the neck. I reckon we take this occasional ‘bad’ with the far more often ‘good’, and the many times ‘wonderfully brilliant’.
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