Cheap shots come at a price -- for Moran and Bannon

Tag : Sound Proof Board

Collie Moran 's tackle on Dermot Bannon was a good championship hit. It was also a cheap shot.
Bannon was open. And when a player is open it becomes very easy totake him out. By 'open', we mean a situation where the player onthe receiving end is unable to defend himself. The classic scenariois the hospital pass: the ball is slow arriving, it is hanging inthe air too long.
Meanwhile, an opponent in the immediate vicinity spots hisopportunity. The receiving player is static; and he has to keep hiseye on the ball. And, in a corner of his brain, he knows he isabout to get done. While he is standing, the opponent has time tobuild velocity, line him up, and mow him down.
GAA players in general don't complain about this because they knowthat if the situations were reversed they would do exactly the samething. Also, it's not often the chance comes along. Like boxers ina ring, it is usually very difficult to catch an opponent full-onand full square.
Because, in most situations, these players are on hyper-alert forincoming tackles. All it needs is a microsecond to spot the danger:a blur of enemy colour in the corner of your eye, a shout in yourear, the sound of running feet closing in fast. Then they canadjust: swerve or dip or sidestep out of contact. And a dangerousmoment becomes innocuous, like a swinging punch in the ring thatonly connects with air.
If players didn't have this facility, there would be casualties allover the field. If they didn't have this facility, they wouldn't bethere in the first place.
So when the odd chance comes along to put in the hit, you take it.Which is what Moran did last Sunday. The argument has been madethat Moran was unlucky because Bannon was falling down, and,therefore, presented a low target -- which is why Moran wasunfortunate to catch him high. This is nonsense.
Bannon was marginally ahead of his marker, Stephen O'Shaughnessy , in the race to an incoming ball. Arriving at speed, straining toreach the ball, and under heavy pressure from O'Shaughnessy, Bannonlost his footing. Moran, meanwhile, was about six, seven yardsaway. Bannon managed to grab the ball but his balance was gone;bent over and charging fast, his momentum took him right intoMoran's path. Moran caught Bannon high in the shoulder with his hipand flashed an elbow at his head too.
It was exactly what you'd expect any championship footballer to do.Very few players would be able to resist such a juicy opportunity.An open opponent, unable to defend himself, and no danger of thehitter getting hurt -- it was as easy a hit as Moran will ever get.
But to say that Moran caught him high only because Bannon was lowto the ground is naïve. And it ignores the evidence too: Moranlined him up. He had time to line him up. Bannon too had time, justa fraction of a moment, to see what was about to happen. He couldsee, in that instant, Moran closing in on him. But it was too lateto do anything about it. Next thing, Moran floored him. To makematters worse, Moran caught him high, and caught him high not withhis shoulder but his hip, the hard bone of his hip.
A defenceless player, hit high and heavy by an opponent who himselfwas in no danger -- the very definition of a cheap shot.
Shoulder to shoulder, fine. Players are entitled to crash and bangall they want, they are entitled to take someone out with a heavybody shot. It's part of the game's energy; it's a thrillingingredient in the mix that is big-time championship football. Buthip to head? No. It's not acceptable because it's dangerous. After23 minutes, Bannon's match was over, taken from the field with hisshoulder joint damaged and his head spinning.
Personally, I wouldn't blame Moran for taking his chance to dishout some punishment to Bannon -- nor would I blame the CCCC fortaking their chance to dish out some punishment to Moran. He got amonth, he deserved a month.
And now the Dubs are bellyaching. From county board men to formerplayers, they are jumping up and down. Rattles have been thrown outof the pram. It's not fair. They're ganging up on
us -- not just the GAA but RTE too. The Sunday Game made an issueof it on Sunday night and, suddenly, Moran was in the dock Mondaymorning. Two plus two equals five.
But it's not their job on the Sunday Game to protect players. Theirobligation is to the viewers. An incident occurs, viewers send intheir emails, the pundits examine the incident, give their opinionand move on. Allegations that the CCCC are then influenced by theTV verdict are little more than smears. There is no proof, noevidence: it is complete speculation.
Gerry Harrington , the Dublin County Board chairman, said this sort of television scrutiny was "very unfair"on players.
Not half as unfair, we would have thought, as getting injured in adangerous tackle and carted from the field with the game stillyoung. And, worse still, getting injured in a dangerous tackle whenyou didn't even have the chance to protect yourself.
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