The AFL industry has sunk to an new low. Little Hayden Ballantyne, former winner of the WAFL Best and Fairest, philanthropist, charity worker and all round nice guy has felt the full force of an AFL machine that would like to see short people stamped out of the sport, with a two week penalty for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The witch hunt began as soon as he received his first punch and the Geelong mafia started looking for a distraction. By the time the game was over, Ballantyne had been punched in the jaw, smacked in the back of the head, provided a cushion for someone’s knee as they fell to the ground and verbally assaulted by the opposition coach as he made his way off for a drink....and it was all his own fault.

 Like a young woman wearing too short a skirt, Ballantyne had it coming. He’s small, he’s cheeky, he’s better than them all...why shouldn’t you be allowed to whack him. Try as they might though, they couldn’t rattle the little bloke. He didn’t react when Scarlett hurled abuse at him and started shadow boxing. He didn’t even react when Scarlett tried to knock his lights out. He’s unflappable. 

So instead they went witch hunting. Burn him they cried. They scoured the tapes for anything incriminating and eventually found some footage of Paul Chapman spewing up. Well it wasn’t hard to find footage of him spewing up, he’d had a good cleanout every ten minutes. Ground official spent all day Sunday trying to get the Ibises off the bloody ground after they’d come to feed on the corn and carrot chunks. 

Then Channel 7 found a bit of grainy footage where Ballantyne brushed past Chapman, Chapman got a bit nauseous, spewed up and Chapman’s testimony that Ballantyne had pulled a knife on him, robbed him them split him open was taken as gospel. Geelong’s doctor will pretty much say anything to get a Fremantle player rubbed out so that wasn't an issue. A random figure of two weeks came up on the Match Review Panel’s chocolate wheel and Hayden was set alight. 

Matthew Scarlett was the only Geelong player to pay for his deeds with Scarlett, a player with a record longer than the stream of tears running down his face, assaulted Ballantyne in full view of three umpires, 12 HD television cameras and 35,000 impartial football supporters, given just 3 weeks. 

Meanwhile the players who encouraged people to take vigilante action against the young Fremantle players have been given the two thumbs up, all clear, boys will be boys treatment from the AFL, leaving the door open for Hayden Ballantyne to get a free run on the social media circuit during his brief spell on the sidelines. 

Gold Coast player Trent McKenzie, who has only had the pleasure of being towelled up by Ballantyne on one occasion, claimed on the twitter that "Matthew Scarlett did a favour for most people #lethimoff.” While Alipate Carlile remarked that "Matty Scarlett just done what a lot of other footballers would love to do #brilliant." Ballantyne presumably went to town on the Port Adelaide defenders fruity name. 

The AFL social media policy allows for players to abuse each other but they will have the book thrown at them if they comment on an umpiring decision. Any defence of Ballantyne will therefore be a fine incurring offence. 

Ballantyne will decide whether it’s worth challenging the decision or if he’ll plead Chinatown and take the two weeks. The real hurt for him will be that it means he won’t be in Sydney for the annual Red Kite match where he loves getting out to help sick kids and such.