They need to convince the whole list that the week before the season is actually the bye week, and come out firing from the off, rather than three months in.
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Nope, nobody can.
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What did Wei Jingsheng say?
Surely thatâs only for DJK thread 
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Hehe⌠we know that guyâŚ
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Certainly creating a stirâŚ
Orazio Fantasia left with bruises on his arm after constant pinching from Ben Stratton
Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes has called on Hawthorn to act after skipper Ben Stratton repeatedly pinched Orazio Fantasia on Friday night.
While the key defender is expected to be fined by the MRO, Cornes said the Hawks should consider stripping the premiership player of the captaincy for a week after the âcowardlyâ act.
âEvery year the send-off rule debate pops up,â Cornes said on SEN.
âThis incidentâŚmerits (why) there should be a send-off rule.
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âPinching a defenceless opponent, and it wasnât just one pinch, it was repeated pinching. You can see on his arm there are seven or eight bruisers that have been left there.
âLetâs say it was 15 times that he got pinched last night, the goal umpire was aware of it. I saw Fantasia making the goal umpire aware of it. Why that wasnât relayed to the field umpireâŚis staggering but a fine for this doesnât cut it. It was one of the most cowardly things Iâve seen all year.
âThis is every bit worth a week suspension. Even furtherâŚif Hawthorn are serious, is there a club sanction that needs to be handed down if the AFL donât act on this? A week or stripping him of the captaincy for a week is about right for this.â
Fantasia took the issue up with umpires at quarter-time, before bruises began showing up on the back of his arm in the second half.
âIâve got a couple of bruises on the arm. He loves to pinch. Heâs a good defender. To come back to play on him, I knew it was a tough night,â Fantasia told Channel 7 after the match.
âHe has all the tricks in the book. Heâs done it every time I play on him. Itâs a tough one.â
However, not all Bombers were prepared to brush the action off.
Essendon veteran Cale Hooker took a swipe at Stratton after the game.
âIt comes as a surprise, usually the good players donât have to get involved in that stuff and Ben Stratton is a pretty good player,â Hooker told 3AW.
Essendon coach John Worsfold said Stratton would be punished if his actions were deemed unacceptable.
âThere are rules in place I think around the game. Things that happen within the rules are outside the rules. I assume it will take care of itself,â Worsfold said.
âI havenât seen what it looked like. I really canât comment.â
Bruises on the back of Orazio Fantasiaâs arm. Picture: AAP
Under 2019 AFL Tribunal guidelines, pinching comes under the âFixed Financial Offencesâ section, which are listed as âreportable offences which attract a fixed financial sanction onlyâ.
A first offence can attract a $1500 fine or $1000 with an early guilty plea.
A second offence can lead to a $2500 fine and a third offence $4000.
âI donât think this is a good look for Ben Stratton,â former Western Bulldogs ruckman Luke Darcy said on Triple M.
âAs a captain of your club, I donât think you want to be a pincher.â
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said he did not want to comment on the incident until he had seen it and spoken with Stratton.
Strattonâs tactics against Fantasia came just two weeks after he was scrutinised for niggling of Brisbane small forward Charlie Cameron.
Mitch Robinson@MitchRobinson05
Pinching tactic. First of all, I was thinking how do you let someone do that to you for an entire game. I forgot there are 3 umpires, multiple cameras and you canât retaliate without giving away a free kick, or risk being suspended⌠Great system.
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On that occasion, the Hawks skipper was captured throwing little jabs to Cameronâs back and arms.
Former Hawthorn teammate Jordan Lewis said the treatment of Cameron was ânot within the spirit of the game but itâs within the rules of the game, so thatâs the thing that you canât really policeâ.
Free kick?
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North Melbourne great David King said the umpires should have acted sooner.
âIt was pointed out at quarter-time, so theyâve had time enough to assess it ⌠and they (the umpires) still havenât acted on it,â he told Fox Footy.
âTheyâre asking for trouble ⌠what, are we waiting for Fantasia to respond?
âYouâve got a chance to knock this on the head straight away.â
Niggle is fine but I think pinching is crossing the line!
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Former Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley was fined $1200 for pinching North Melbourneâs Brent Harvey in 2013 under a misconduct charge.
Harvey claimed at the tribunal hearing the pinching âdidnât happen once, it happened 300 timesâ.
Strattonâs pinching was not the only time in the match got physical, with a long-time rivalry reignited as Essendon and Hawthorn players got involved in an old-fashioned three-quarter time scuffle.
Mark Robinson
The pinch heard around the world âŚ
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The two teams clashed on the wing in what quickly became an all-in push and shove, which appeared to centre around Essendon ruckman Tom Bellchambers who clashed with counterpart Ben McEvoy.
Hawthorn small forward Paul Puopolo went back to Bellchambers for words after the two teams had begun to separate.
The scuffle did not help the Hawks, who trailed by 23 points at the final break before fading away to go down by 19 points at Marvel Stadium.
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Did he??
He said none of those words.
Fkn Journos. 
âThere are rules in place I think around the game. Things that happen within the rules are outside the rules. I assume it will take care of itself,â Worsfold said.
Yes. That IS what he said.
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Bit harsh to rate stringer worst he had 2 goals to half time and umpires were crucifying him.
I did like this bit about Clarke though.
Dylan Clarke
Playing in just his third game, Clarke was magnificent in his shutdown role, taking Jaeger OâMeara out of the game. While OâMeara had 24 disposals, many of his possessions were in junk time, and his efficiency of just 54% is well below his average. Clarke, for his part, had 23 disposals at 82%, as well as five clearances. Has made himself an important part of Essendonâs midfield setup as the Bombers make a run towards finals
And Breust
Breust was totally irrelevant, with only 10 possessions and the solitary mark. Kicking only one goal, itself coming from one of the softest free kicks seen this season,
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Cornes is a bit of a flog isnât he
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Also illustrates Conorâs big first half, and OâMeara being ineffectual throughout.
WJ: Itâs a lovely day today, isnât it?
JR: Actually, itâs a bit cloudy.
Jake first down field free, soft, goal
Connor in the back free , soft , goal plus momentum
Begley low diving mark not paid
Kicking in danger free, soft, goal?
Tippa had his head pulled off again 15 mtrs out, no free, play on
Chamberlain re invented the laws of physics, diving on the ball while standing up, goal?
Guelfi hip and shouldered off the goal line, canât do that any other time while a player doesnât have possession, goal
We really should have flogged these poo and wee flogs
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Basically, that China sucked.
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My dissent is that daggy? 
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Chappie!!!
Nah man⌠dont do it⌠not when weâve won the game. Umpiring wasnât as bad as a lot of other games.
One major thing that I noticed out of last nightâs game was the actual spirit and how the young guys celebrated goals by getting around one another last night in droves.
It was something that a lot of us thought was missing in the first half of the year, that enthusiasm when someone did something positive in the game.
The celebrations by Langford and Parish were particularly noticeable. Langford was even smiling constantly after the game as he was running around the fence hand slapping the fans back to the race.
These younger guys seem to be creating a close bond with one another which can only serve the team well going into the future. Just need the coaches to keep them playing and growing together consistently now.
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