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Franklin twice jabbed at Cotchin, connected slightly once and yes, Cotchin exaggerated the extent of the contact, as players often do in these situations, to ensure a free.

It warranted a one-match suspension, no more or less. Sydney, from what one can gather, looked at the footage and had their hopes raised when still images showed Buddy’s offending hand was open, rather than fisty. Franklin even argued that “at no stage did I think I punched him in the face”.

Franklin’s thoughts were not terribly relevant given the footage, which anyone without a red and white blindfold could see would result in a week off for the champ, who, at 35, probably could do with a break, although his ban cost Sydney the opportunity to exploit Melbourne’s loss of Steven May.

The AFL’s apology, while necessary, was still slightly awry. “There are no cowardly players in the AFL, let alone Lance Franklin. Lance Franklin is a champion of our game.” The statement seems to have misunderstood that Buddy was being accused of a “cowardly” act, not of being a “coward”.

Cascading blunders here. Franklin shouldn’t have jabbed at Cotchin, the Swans ought not to have challenged the ban, the AFL’s barrister shouldn’t have used the word cowardly, and Sydney’s lawyer - less egregiously - overstepped the mark in consigning Cotchin to the Logies, which doesn’t necessarily denote elite acting skills anyway.

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