FOR reasons he may or may not appreciate - Swans players seldom agree to talk about anything more controversial than their golf games - Adam Goodes was unlucky not to be suspended for his head-high bump on West Coast's Adam Selwood.

Yes, unlucky not to be suspended. Because it was the match review panel's unusually lenient classification of the impact of Goodes's bump as "low" rather than "medium" - as had been the case with several less fortunate players this season - that resulted in Goodes joining the yellow-spotted tree frog and the double-eyed fig parrot on the list of protected species rather than anything within his control.

In delivering a verdict that was clearly inconsistent with previous findings during the current crackdown against head-high contact, the match review panel, in one regard, did Goodes no favours. The incredible streak of 202 consecutive games remains alive. But it is now tarnished by events beyond his control. After all, what was Goodes supposed to do? Make an emotional plea for a heavier sentence? Beg for less mercy? Obviously not.

However, like the teacher's pet tormented by the school bully, Goodes's great fortune in escaping from three charges over the past two seasons with two reprimands and a not guilty verdict, rather than the match committee's error, will occupy the minds of opposition fans - and even coaches. That could lead to a perverse situation where the decorated ball-winner Goodes cops more from across the boundary than notorious hard man Barry Hall, who has served his time.

Needless to say, both players will be happy with a schedule that sees the Swans moored in safe harbour for more than a month, with Saturday night's SCG match against St Kilda followed by a virtual home game against Melbourne in Canberra, a bye and then the blockbuster against Collingwood - whose travelling hordes will be eager to enter the intellectual fray regarding the Goodes and Hall cases.

Goodes might well use that period of respite to consider how better to deal with the frustration created by the physical treatment his sheer brilliance attracts. Yesterday, he spent some time discussing Saturday's incident with coach Paul Roos, who acknowledged Goodes's bump on Selwood was misguided retaliation for Eagles midfielder Tyson Stenglein's apparently pre-meditated hit on Goodes at the opening bounce.

But again, whether or not Goodes believes he has a problem coping with such attention is unknown. Despite their constant complaints about the competition they face for exposure in a crowded sporting market, the Swans would refuse an interview request with the club boot-studder if he had inserted a faulty stud.

A club spokesman said Goodes would not comment because there was "nothing to be gained" by describing the impact of the Selwood bump or explaining whether he was worried about the black mark Brisbane coach Leigh Matthew's "protected species" comment had placed on his once untarnished reputation.

So, with Goodes not required to provide evidence to the tribunal, you can let your imagination run wild. You can assume he was possessed by evil goblins when he bumped Selwood or invent conspiracy theories about how he was seen shouting his mates at the match review panel dinner. Again.

Because nonsense such as that will inevitably fill the vacuum created when even intelligent, articulate and experienced players such as Goodes are unable or unwilling to tell it as it is.