Sunday Footy Show host Tony Jones accused Tom Papley of double standards after the Sydney Swans star complained about Essendon Bombers niggle on Saturday night.
Papley called Essendon’s tough guy tactics a “facade” and claimed the Bombers were targeting Swans players off the ball during Sydney’s 131-101 AFL win.
”You can be tough and do all that stuff, but you’ve still got to be able to play four quarters,” Papley told 3AW radio.
“They were hitting us behind the play and things like that. They’re trying to do that stuff and I don’t know if it’s them or not… you can pretend to be tough, but you’ve still got to win the ball and win the game. It’s all a facade.”
But Jones pointed out that Papley was no shrinking violet himself and called his comments “a little bemusing, given that Sydney was accused of doing the same thing some time ago.”
“And I’m sure if (Western Bulldogs star) Jason Johannisen was watching, he would have thought ‘hmm, really?’ It was a bit rich for the Swans, complaining about a team targeting them off the ball when only a few years ago they were doing exactly the same thing.”
The SCG showdown got off to an explosive start when Essendon forward Peter Wright left Sydney defender Harry Cunningham motionless on the turf with a bone rattling collision.
While not condoning the Wright hit, Bombers great Matthew Lloyd said his former club needed to maintain their aggressive edge.
