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Jonathan Brown levels staggering claim at AFL as fans fume over 'ridiculous' suspensions

The Brisbane Lions great has let rip at the AFL over the latest development.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·5-min read

Lions great Jonathan Brown has taken aim at the AFL and the MRO after Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford were both handed suspensions this week. Brown was left dumbfounded when speaking on Monday over the AFL's decision to ban Cameron and Bedford for their respective tackles on the weekend.

Cameron found himself in trouble when he concussed Eagles star Liam Duggan with a driving tackle in his team's win on the weekend. He was hit with a three-game suspension after the MRO graded the incident “careless, severe impact and high contact”.

Lions great Jonathan Brown (pictured middle) has taken aim at the AFL after Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford were both handed long suspensions this week. (Getty Images)
Lions great Jonathan Brown (pictured middle) has taken aim at the AFL after Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford were both handed long suspensions this week. (Getty Images)

Bedford was hit with a three-game ban for his tackle on Richmond's Tim Taranto. Bedford dragged his opponent down from behind, resulting in Taranto smashing his head against the ground. Taranto went off with a concussion. The AFL has taken player safety to a new level in 2024 and has attempted to rule out dangerous play with harsher suspensions.

However, Brown was left in disbelief of the bans handed to both Cameron and Bedford. Brown - who understands the dangers of concussion following his playing days - questioned whether the governing body had gone too far in trying to crack down on rough play. He singled out the Bedford tackle and said the incident did not seem to be dangerous.

"What has happened to our great game? And I’m alluding to the decisions by the AFL and the MRO to suspend Toby Bedford and Charlie Cameron – we’ll start with the Toby Bedford one of GWS," Brown said on Fox Footy's On The Couch.

"It’s just astonishing – I know where we’re going as a game, and we’re trying to protect the head, and we’ve done an amazing job in the last five to ten years of protecting the players out there. But what in the hell, is Toby Bedford meant to do? We are allowed to tackle in our game, all he did was pursue Tim Taranto and tackle him in what has been a legal way for the best part of 100 years.

"It’s getting into troubling territory for me, and that’s really concerning – I think we’re now starting to eat into the fabric of the game. Yes, I feel bad for Tim Taranto, we don’t want players to get injured, but we are starting to eat into the fabric of the game Bucks."

Tim Taranto concussed after being tackled by Toby Bedford.
Tim Taranto was concussed after being tackled by Toby Bedford.

And Brown's view appeared to be supported by two-time Geelong premiership coach Chris Scott. The veteran coach was talking about both Bedford and Cameron when questioning how far the game had gone in trying to stamp out rough conduct.

“The players have a duty of care to be careful in that situation, and I’m seeing a lot of momentum and I’m not seeing much driving from Charlie,” Scott said on AFL 360. “If anything, it looks to be as if he’s being pulled to the ground – I’m not here to defend opposition players … I think the outcome is we just don’t want to see players concussed.”

Kane Cornes agreed with Brown and said Giants star Bedford should get off when he challenges the ban “No, he doesn’t have a case to answer. He’ll get off. We’re in all sorts of trouble if that action leads to a suspension,” Cornes said on SEN Radio. “That tackle was far less dangerous than what Patrick Dangerfield did to Sam Walsh. I know Walsh wasn’t concussed, but that’s luck of the draw."

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Despite the backlash to the bans, Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph put the AFL's harsh stance into perspective in 2024. “Liam Picken has a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the AFL, Brad Shephard last week the (former) West Coast player put a lawsuit in the Supreme Court over concussions.” Ralph said. "We have 100 players lining up to try and sue the AFL with a class action; so it’s not theoretical, it’s not concussion campaigners, if we can’t gradually change the face of the game, we have not got a game."

After the weekend, Lions veteran Dayne Zorko could not believe Cameron had found himself in trouble for the tackle on Duggan. “He’s just laid a tackle – I don’t know what else he’s supposed to do,” Zorko said on SEN radio.

“(From) the angles that I’ve seen, it looks pretty clear that there’s no intent and no malice in it. He’s just simply laid a tackle and unfortunately, due to the ferocity of it, he (Duggan) bumped his head.” Cameron will miss this weekend's game against the Sydney Swans.