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Australian Rules > Thompson condemns Baker tactics
By Adam Cooper
June 29, 2010

Geelong coach Mark Thompson has condemned Steven Baker's conduct towards Cat Steve Johnson and believes the AFL's crackdown will be heard across the league.

Baker will miss the next nine games for three times striking Johnson last Friday night at the MCG, and for hitting his opponent's injured hand.

Johnson was suspended for three games for twice striking Baker.

Thompson conceded the suspension the match review panel imposed on Baker, and that the tribunal upheld on Tuesday night, was heavy, but said it was justified and would send a message to all players that behind-the-play incidents would not be tolerated.

"I think the message that they're (the panel members) trying to send is that they don't want Stevie Baker's actions to be repeated by any player that plays in the AFL because they were quite severe and that would be a good thing," he said, before Baker's tribunal appearance.

"I don't want to attack Steven Baker, but ... I just don't think we need to see that sort of stuff in a game of footy.

"You don't expect to play a game of footy and go out and get harassed off the ball - you just don't need that in your life, do you?

"As a player or a spectator you don't want to see it."

Thompson said the Cats opted not to challenge the suspensions imposed on Johnson and Cameron Mooney by the panel because they did not think they could win.

He admitted Johnson was wrong to retaliate when he threw back an elbow at Baker, which left the backman with a cut near the eye that required stitches.

"I spoke to (AFL football operations general manager) Adrian (Anderson) yesterday and I said that it was a bit hard that Stevie Baker was doing that and Steve Johnson had to accept it," Thompson said.

"But in the end Steven (Johnson) has broken the rules too and we just have to live by that. Unfortunately that's what happened."

Mooney was suspended for two games for striking Jason Blake.

Thompson said the umpires could have defused the stoush between Baker and Johnson by intervening early, but said the lessons from the judicial fall-out would seep through this week.

"A player would be quite foolish to do anything like that because you'd probably think the umpires will try to jump in and change that pretty early," he said.

"That's OK because that's what we do as coaches.

"We sit down every week and work out things that we didn't do too well and try and improve them. Umpires are no different."
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