AS IS often the case in matters determined by quasi-legal systems geared to administer sometimes ambivalent rules and regulations rather than dispense justice in its purest form, it was not an act of brutality or even significant negligence that brought Adam Goodes's unbroken streak of 204 games to an end.

Amazingly for a dual Brownlow medallist who remains a consummate ball player despite some recent brushes with authority, it was his bad reputation. Of the four cases Goodes has faced during a tumultuous 14 months, the extremely light head-high bump on Melbourne's Clint Bartram on Sunday that resulted in the one-game ban accepted yesterday was easily the least serious - even allowing for the AFL's determination to protect the heads of players over the ball.

It was less forceful than Goodes's frustrated whack on the nagging Melbourne tagger Simon Godfrey last year or the head-high hit on West Coast's Adam Selwood two weeks ago, offences for which Goodes received reprimands. It was also less severe than the elbow with which he collected Port Adelaide's Matt Thomas in round two, despite the tribunal's not-guilty finding.

Indeed, so relatively minor was the clumsy bump on Bartram that it is possible to believe Goodes would have escaped punishment had his good fortune on those previous occasions not created the misleading view, perpetuated by mischievious Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews, that Goodes was a "protected species". (Misleading because it was the quirks of the AFL's judicial system, rather than any overt bias, that allowed Goodes to dodge some bullets.)

Even the Swans were swayed by Goodes's new reputation. Sorely tempted to challenge the ban, given how light the contact was, they realised that with his priors, as well as the AFL's campaign against head-high contact, the chances of another reprieve were slim.

Too slim to risk the two-game ban Goodes faced if a tribunal challenge failed - particularly with Saturday week's ANZ Stadium blockbuster against injury-struck Collingwood to be followed by a potentially more testing match against third-placed Hawthorn at the MCG.

None of which is to suggest Goodes did not deserve his fate. Merely that, like a shoplifter leaving the scene with his ill-gotten gains only to be booked for jay-walking, he was rightly punished but for the wrong offence.

So Goodes will not eclipse former Melbourne champion Jim Stynes's record of 244 consecutive games. Instead he will sit in third place on the all-time list of the AFL's most durable behind Melbourne's Adam Yze (226) - still an amazing achievement. For those who like to put these things in context, the previous time the Sydney Swans ran onto the field without Goodes, the Governor of Texas, George Bush, was contesting the Republican nomination for the 2000 presidential elections, Lance Armstrong had recently won his first Tour de France and Tony Lockett had just announced his (first) retirement.

That was round 21 in August, 1999, and Sydney beat Fremantle by 33 points at the WACA Ground. While much emphasis has been put on Goodes's so-called "get out of jail free" cards in recent seasons, a player once derided as "soft" by some scouts because he was not a strong contested mark has shown amazing staying power. In 2004, Goodes famously played on despite tearing the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and, during several games, had ligament damage in his left knee as well. Less well known was that Goodes played the first half of last season after having painkilling injections in a dislocated shoulder, partly explaining why he endured an unusually lean period.

What is unclear is how much the duress of playing hurt has affected his psyche. Or whether the niggling tactics of taggers who naturally target such an accomplished player have gotten under his skin. Or if, in the most recent incidents, Goodes had simply failed to adapt to the stricter interpretation of illegal head-high bumps.

As is the custom with Swans players in anything but the most non-controversial of circumstances, or when fulfilling paid media contracts, Goodes was not available for comment yesterday. But whatever the reason, he ignored the warning of coach Paul Roos not to bump an opponent's head after the Selwood incident and will now have three weeks - including the bye and the Pies game - to think about it. That's a long time for a man used to being in the thick of things.