AFL says Danger can skip medal

GILLON McLachlan says he will personally speak to Patrick Dangerfield to ask if he wants to present this year’s Brownlow Medal.

But the AFL chief executive steadfastly maintains the league will not change its strict eligibility criteria for the league’s prestigious medal.

Tradition dictates that Dangerfield, as last year’s winner, presents this year’s medal — potentially to a player with fewer votes than him. He said yesterday after his one-match suspension: “I think Dusty [Martin] is going to win it pretty convincingly.”

But McLachlan is concerned enough about whether Dangerfield might be uncomfortable in that role that he will call him.

“At the right time I will have a discussion with Patty,’’ McLachlan said.

“We certainly don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. I don’t know what his mindset is going to be. But we would be sensible about that. I am aware of the issue and if Patty said to me, ‘I just don’t want to be there, I would feel bad,’ we would be sensible.”

McLachlan dismissed a suggestion by Leigh Matthews that only intentional acts should disqualify players from the Brownlow.

He said the rules were explicit that if players pinned rivals by the arms and caused damage to their heads they should be suspended.

“In the end you have to have some rules which are applied. Is the rule right and was the application of it right? I think it was,” he said.