AFL 2022: Carlton coach Michael Voss hopes Patrick Cripps’ successful appeal makes it clearer what contact players can make

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Carlton coach Michael Voss hopes a decision to overturn a two-game suspension for his captain Patrick Cripps gives players “greater clarity” about what they can and can’t do when it comes to physical contact.

Many in the AFL world were left bemused by the outcome of Carlton’s marathon appeal hearing on Thursday night that cleared Cripps of making illegal contact with Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee last weekend.

Cripps had been banned for two weeks by the match review panel but Voss, who said post-game he didn’t think his skipper had a case to answer, was adamant the Blues had a “strong case” to have the suspension overturned.

Voss said that played out “as we’d hoped”, and despite confusion from many in the AFL community in the wake of the decision, he was adamant it was the right one for all players.

He said the decision should allow for players “evenly contesting the ball” as he maintained Cripps was.

“I hope it actually gives more clarity in some ways. We always felt like, as a player, you have an ability to be able to contest the ball,” Voss said on Friday.

“That was the initial feel we had and we maintain that.

“The interpretation of that we felt like it was going to come out that way.

“We were obviously left a little bit disappointed with the outcome of the tribunal and we followed through the appeals process,

“I think the game still lends to evenly contesting the ball and that’s not changed.

“The rules state it that way and that‘s the way we read the rules and interpret the situation and we followed through on that.

“Maybe that gives greater clarity for everyone, but the fact is we felt like we had a really great case.”

Voss said Cripps had been “amazing” as he handled the week of attention but conceded the club had been planning for Saturday’s clash against Melbourne without him.

Cripps’ contact was graded as careless, high impact and high contact by the match review panel, a finding endorsed by the tribunal panel on Tuesday when Carlton contested it.

But wanting Cripps to play their final two games with finals on the line, the Blues went to the appeals board and were successful in a four-and-a-half hour hearing on Thursday night.

Voss said he was hopeful and confident their case was a strong one.

“(It) probably played out as we’d hoped,” he said.

“(That was) our read on it at the start, we maintained that and thankfully the appeals board saw it that way as well.”

Originally published as AFL 2022: Carlton coach Michael Voss hopes Patrick Cripps’ successful appeal makes it clearer what contact players can make