Stevo's Sting - with Mark Stevens

Each week chief AFL reporter Mark Stevens runs his eye over the biggest issues and stories of the AFL week that was.

Here is the latest edition of Stevo's Sting.

TRIBUNAL OVERUSE

Tribunal cases were once seen as so dramatic, there was a push for live coverage, Judge Judy style.

After sitting through the Chris Yarran and Luke Hodge hearings in the past fortnight, "Judge David Jones and The Jurors" won't be coming to a screen near you at any time soon.

Were the Yarran and Hodge hearings really necessary? It's questionable.

Tribunal gatherings are expensive and time consuming. Were these two worth the trouble? No.

The MRP was originally set up to avoid weekly hearings, and having watch both cases unfold from the back row, you have to question if it would be better to leave it to a grading system.

Give the MRP the power, flexibility and grading categories to deliver a verdict of four weeks down to three with an early plea and move on.

Both results were predictable and in line with the original MRP gradings anyway. The incidents were obvious and easily graded off the vision.

Evidence added nothing, really. Seeing Hodge and Yarran get on the stand was interesting, but really all they did was apologise.

The incidents weren't serious enough, and not mysterious enough, for the full treatment.

Save the tribunal for the really major ones, where a player is seriously hurt, or in an an instance where video is inconclusive and evident imperative.

Really, it just felt like everyone was going through the motions, leading to an inevitable conclusion.

Barry Hall v Brent Staker would always go to the tribunal, but leave these borderline matters to the MRP and save everyone the effort.

LEWIS V MAY TRIBUNAL FAIL

The old MRP had an image problem from the moment former AFL football manager Adrian Anderson bombarded us with loathsome loadings and convoluted carry over points.

It would have been easier to market the Lada as Russia's new luxury car than spin the MRP and win over Joe Public.

But it did have its advantages. There were more boxes to tick, more wriggle room to classify offences.

Simplifying the system was always going to be a PR winner, but when you put the Jordan Lewis and Steven May incident side-by-side, you have to ask: Have we dumbed it down too much?

Both hits were deemed careless conduct and high impact, resulting in three weeks down to two.

Yet the intent was so different. For both to fall under the umbrella of careless is silly.

Under the past system, the MRP had the choice of three categories ... negligent, reckless and intentional.

Now, there is just two ... intentional and deliberate. The scope just isn't wide enough and May paid a the price.

Last year, with more options, the MRP surely would have graded May negligent and Lewis reckless. Lewis probably would have been hit with an extra week given the difference. Common sense.

Those words, negligent and reckless, perfectly sum up both the May and Lewis actions.

The dumbed down careless category just doesn't cut it. It's too wide ranging.

Sure, there were glitches in the old system, but it's taken only five weeks for a major glitch to emerge in the new one.

It was never going to be an easy transition from old to new, and Anderson's replacement Mark Evans was the first to admit that. Issues were always going to crop up. Now we have one.

HUNTER IN FROM THE DARK

Lachie Hunter, the centre of one of those 24-hour stories in the pre-season, might finally be ready to push into seniors at the Dogs.

Hunter, cleared in what was a fizzer of a betting inquiry, has shone in the VFL in recent weeks. He's been forced to work hard to bust his way back in.

JOURNEYMAN ROOKIE TO DEBUT

Gold Coast's injury and self-imposed suspension crisis is so bad, expect a rookie elevation ahead of the weekend.

Journeyman Andrew Raines is set to make his Suns debut.

CARLTON CRISIS BY THE NUMBERS

Carlton fans might want to stop reading now. The basic numbers (the scoreboard) were bad enough on Friday night, but it gets worse.

The Blues' average age was 25.6. Their average games played per player 88.4. They need to get cracking if they are rebuilding, because they were older and more experienced than the Magpies.

The Pies' 22 on Friday night had an average age of 24.6 and games average of 77.8.

Rodney Eade and the Suns can take heart from the fact they were the youngest side to go into battle at the weekend. They had an average age of 22.3 and a games played average of just 46.4.

And the averages add further weight to the Bulldogs' triumph against Sydney at the SCG.

The Dogs' average age (23.7) and games played (59.1) was in stark contrast to the seasoned Swans (26.9 and 126).

Luke Beverdige's team featured nine players with 25 games or less experience. Only the Suns had more, with 10.