THERE was an unwanted record broken by Toby Greene over the weekend.
When the Greater Western Sydney captain accepted his Match Review charge for striking Carlton's Brodie Kemp on Saturday evening, it marked the 25th sanction of his career.
In doing so, Greene has now officially equalled ex-Carlton and South Melbourne great David Rhys-Jones' longstanding record as being the most charged player in V/AFL history.
Rhys-Jones, who was also charged 25 times throughout his career, soared past the previous record of 19 – set by St Kilda and Melbourne's Carl Ditterich – towards the end of his career in the 1990s.
For more than three decades, the record of 25 has stood. Steve Johnson and Jordan Lewis both got close, each charged 20 times by the AFL's Match Review, but no one had ever looked like breaking Rhys-Jones' record.
Until now.
The fact that Greene has been charged 25 different times throughout his 230-game career means he is now averaging a Match Review sanction for every 9.2 appearances that he makes.
Greene's 25 charges have tallied 15 games worth of suspensions, while his latest fine has pushed his financial sanctions to a whopping $35,600. Unsurprisingly, he had already broken the record as being the most fined player ever.
As previously revealed by AFL.com.au earlier this season, Port Adelaide's 23-year-old midfield superstar Zak Butters is already closing on Greene's record though. He's already been fined a total of $29,375.
Rhys-Jones, by contrast, was fined only $5000. Instead, having played out his 182-game career predominantly through the '80s, his 25 charges resulted in 22 games worth of suspensions.
Toby's track record
Total: 25 charges (equal most in V/AFL history)
Suspensions: 15 games
Fines: $35,600 (most in V/AFL history)
R8, 2012: Made ineligible for the Rising Star award after he was suspended for one match for an ugly bump on Brisbane veteran Jed Adcock.
R13, 2012: Fined $1200 for his role in a melee during his side's clash with Melbourne.
R5, 2013: Copped a $1950 fine for making reckless contact with an umpire in a game against Gold Coast.
R5, 2014: Walked away with a one-match suspension for striking Adelaide midfielder Richard Douglas, with the offence classified as a level-three sanction.
R23, 2014: Fined another $1200 for engaging in a melee, this time against the Western Bulldogs.
R14, 2015: Hit with a $1500 fine for spitting in the direction of Richmond midfielder Anthony Miles.
R18, 2015: Another $1500 fine for engaging in a melee, this time against Fremantle.
R18, 2016: Fined $1000 for misconduct, having pushed Port Adelaide youngster Brendon Ah Chee into a fence.
PS, 2017: Hit with a $1000 misconduct fine in pre-season, having given North Melbourne's Sam Wright a slap to the face late in the game.
R4, 2017: Fined $1000 for striking Port Adelaide midfielder Dan Houston, with the charge graded as low impact and to the head.
R6, 2017: Hit with a two-match striking suspension after clipping Western Bulldogs midfielder Caleb Daniel with an extremely late spoil attempt.
R18, 2017: Forced to serve another two-match suspension after striking Richmond defender Alex Rance to the jaw with a jumper-punch.
R21, 2017: Controversially offered a $1500 misconduct fine for his flying kick to the face of Western Bulldogs forward Luke Dahlhaus in a marking contest.
EF, 2018: Fined $2500 for misconduct, having appeared to drop his knee into Sydney midfielder Isaac Heeney during an elimination final.
SF, 2018: Fined another $2500 for misconduct the very next week during a semi-final against Collingwood, where he was involved in a back-and-forth with midfielder Taylor Adams.
R10, 2019: Slapped with a $2000 fine for striking, having given Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver a 'tummy tap' in an off-the-ball incident.
EF, 2019: Handed a $7500 fine for serious misconduct, having appeared to make contact with the face and hair of Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli during a lengthy scuffle.
SF, 2019: Suspended for one match after making 'unnecessary or unreasonable contact to the eye region' of Brisbane gun Lachie Neale, forcing him to miss a preliminary final.
R14, 2020: Fined $1000 for elbowing Fremantle's Reece Conca to the midriff in an incident that took place some way off the ball.
R14, 2021: Handed a $2000 fine for a 'tummy tap' to the midriff of Carlton defender Nic Newman, after striking him in an off-the-ball incident.
R21, 2021: Suspended for one game, halved from two, after elbowing Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield to the throat while attempting a fend-off to escape a tackle.
EF, 2021: Referred directly to the AFL Tribunal for making intentional contact with umpire Matt Stevic during an elimination final win over the Swans. He was later given a six-match ban, upgraded from a previous three-game ban, after the AFL appealed the leniency of the ruling.
R6, 2024: After going almost three years without a Match Review charge, he copped a one-match ban for a late bump on Carlton's Jordan Boyd. He fought the decision at the Tribunal, but was unsuccessful.
R8, 2024: Greene copped his second sanction in as many matches when he was slapped with a $2500 fine for a gut punch to Sydney defender Jake Lloyd.
R17, 2024: Equalled the V/AFL record for his 25th charge, having been fined $3750 for his late whack to the midriff of Brodie Kemp just after the Carlton defender had kicked the ball clear.
