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BOOKMAKER Gerard Daffy says the AFL could never admit tanking existed because it would leave the league open to legal action by punters who backed the losing club.
AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson yesterday refused to concede Melbourne had tanked to receive priority draft picks in 2008 and 2009, but admitted the league was concerned about the public perception that clubs used this ploy to secure draft advantages.
Anderson's comments came after sacked Melbourne coach Dean Bailey all but admitted on Monday he had been instructed to tank in a bid to finish as low as possible to secure prime picks in the national draft.
Advertisement: Story continues below Former Melbourne forward Russell Robertson, who had claimed ''this whole tanking vibe has disgruntled a few players at the club'' and played a role in Brock McLean leaving the Demons in 2009, did not want to reignite debate yesterday out of respect to Melbourne president Jim Stynes, who is battling terminal cancer.
But Robertson, who played in that infamous final game of the '09 home-and-away season against St Kilda when almost every Demon was played out of position, added: ''I would like to say a few things, but I think the right thing to do right now is not say anything.''
When asked by Anderson to explain his comments, Bailey said he had only put players in unfamiliar positions to aid their development.
Daffy, of Sportsalive, last night said the AFL would never admit matches had been compromised. ''There is a little bit more to all this that hasn't been looked at and hasn't surfaced,'' he said.
''That is, the moment somebody puts up the white flag and says 'we tanked' or, 'we pulled up', there is quite a strong possibility that anybody that backed that side could sue and get their money back. I can't see why you wouldn't win.''
If a club was deemed to have tanked, it could be stripped of points and face a heavy fine.
Daffy said a class action against the NRL's Canterbury Bulldogs in 2002, when the club was stripped of its points because of salary cap rorting, was an example of how punters could impart their wrath.
''There were a group of punters, about 100 of them, that sued the Bulldogs for loss of earnings,'' he said. ''The punters [had] backed the Bulldogs to make the eight, or make the top four, and, at that point, they could not miss. That was settled out of court by the Bulldogs.
''That's why nobody will put up their hand and say 'this happened [in the AFL'].''
Many in the football industry believe Carlton tanked in the final match of the 2007 season against Melbourne - dubbed the ''Kreuzer Cup'' - in a bid to secure a priority pick. The Blues lost, and secured Matthew Kreuzer in the draft.
Tony Liberatore, who was part of the Blues' coaching staff at the time, later said he thought the club had tanked. That claim was denied by the Blues. Liberatore did not want to comment yesterday.
The priority pick, given to sides that win four or fewer matches, will be reviewed at the end of the season.
Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas yesterday
said the AFL was treating supporters like ''imbeciles'' by denying that tanking exists.
He also launched an attack on commentator Kevin Bartlett, whom he claims will not admit tanking exists, and West Coast, which he claims tanked last season, citing as proof its leaking defence - the Eagles ranked 14th for points conceded.
''What were West Coast doing last year? Did [coach] Johnny Worsfold just have a revelation one night and bolt upright, and say, 'Now I know, it's about defence as well','' Thomas said.
West Coast, now with an impressive zone, has the sixth-best defence this season.
Thomas said he vividly remembered that season-ending match in '09 as one example of tanking by the Demons and other clubs. ''It happened all the time because draft picks were absolute gold,'' he said.
''If you weren't going to play in finals, the competition parted like a river at a particular point in the season. Those that could make finals would go like cut cats, those that couldn't, they went just as hard the other way - their premiership was finishing lower.
''If anyone denies that or contests that, they are not being honest to themselves or the footballing public.
''I can't for the life of me understand how the AFL treat supporters and the general footballing public as complete imbeciles. It riles me.''
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its easier to treat someone like something ...if they act like it
why oh why do you lot put up with this
