Analysis The Curtis Taylor hit

[Bunk Moreland]

This is precisely the type of incident that footy needs to reconcile among all the talk about concussion and hits to the head.

What happens here?

It was totally legal and there was no malicious intent on the part of the Port player.

This type of hit can - and will - kill a player. It’ll happen, just as it did to Phil Hughes. Players are stronger, heavier and a lot faster than ever.

The AFL has time and again modified the rules to try to protect head contact. Is there a more dangerous situation than this? A stationary player, totally exposed, with an opponent able to run straight into the back of their head at full velocity. Totally within the rules.

There’s not many examples of that in any sport.

What do they change here? Can they change anything? And will it mean the end of the speccy? How do they balance that?

Is there a type of protective equipment that could help?

----> Curtis Taylor

5

Curtis Taylor

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

No current season stats available

D

6.0

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

Hit

 

[Power Raid]

This is precisely the type of incident that footy needs to reconcile among all the talk about concussion and hits to the head.

What happens here?

It was totally legal and there was no malicious intent on the part of the Port player.

This type of hit can - and will - kill a player. It’ll happen, just as it did to Phil Hughes. Players are stronger, heavier and a lot faster than ever.

The AFL has time and again modified the rules to try to protect head contact. Is there a more dangerous situation than this? A stationary player, totally exposed, with an opponent able to run straight into the back of their head at full velocity. Totally within the rules.

There’s not many examples of that in any sport.

What do they change here? Can they change anything? And will it mean the end of the speccy? How do they balance that?

Is there a type of protective equipment that could help?

one can't raise the sprigs anymore, so simply ban lifting the knee

 

[Jakksynn]

one can't raise the sprigs anymore, so simply ban lifting the knee

You ban lifting the knee and you essentially lose the speccy.

 

[Power Raid]

You ban lifting the knee and you essentially lose the speccy.

if that's the cost of avoiding losing a kidney or a phil hughes outcome, I'm sure mums would support the trade off

 

[Chopperdave]

In 120 years of AFL you can count on one hand the players who have had extreme injuries from a knee in a marking contest. FFS leave it alone.

 

[rumply]

no vision of it online yet, sounds nasty.

 

[Broar]

one can't raise the sprigs anymore, so simply ban lifting the knee

No one is trying to ban the speccy. But if you go for a huge mark (which realistically is a low percentage play) and you clumsily hit someone in the back of the head with your knee, why is it a get out of jail free card?

The player has choosen to jump through the air, has been reckless and has hit an opponents head, surely he should get a few weeks for that?

Yet because it's not a bump, or a tackle nothing will come from this despite it arguably being a far more dangerous action.

 

[nut]

Agree.... let’s just finish the game at the coin toss.

 

[melanChronic]

One day we will be hearing 'he elected to jump' as a justification for 2 weeks.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

No one is trying to ban the speccy. But if you go for a huge mark (which realistically is a low percentage play) and you clumsily hit someone in the back of the head with your knee, why is it a get out of jail free card?

The player has choosen to jump through the air, has been reckless and has hit an opponents head, surely he should get a few weeks for that?

Yet because it's not a bump, or a tackle nothing will come from this despite it arguably being a far more dangerous action.

it’s very hard to reconcile and the game needs to get its head around it.

If the same contact occurred with an elbow or fist, the player would get 6-8 weeks, regardless of intention. And there was zero intention here.

 

[Off Tap]

Agree.... let’s just finish the game at the coin toss.

As long as they give out participation certificates after the toss, I'm all for it.

 

[Off Tap]

----> Curtis Taylor

5

Curtis Taylor

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

No current season stats available

D

6.0

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

Hit

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Agree.... let’s just finish the game at the coin toss.

Agree with what? Nobody proposed anything.

It’s a conversation about a very complex issue. Do your best.

 

[schmuttt]

Football is a contact sport. Whilst it remains like that there will always be the potential for serious injury.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Football is a contact sport. Whilst it remains like that there will always be the potential for serious injury.

More than that though, it’s a business and an industry.

“It’s a contact sport” doesn’t cut it if you’re in charge of running the game and junior numbers plummet.

 

[Broar]

----> Curtis Taylor Hit

Ugly, vey very ugly. The Port player lined him up from a good ten metres away, he had all the time in the world to make a safe jump but cleaned him up. At the end of the day I know it wasn't his intention but it was incredibly reckless, why does the footyworld completely ignore this incident but then want to throw the book at Dangerfield?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Ugly, vey very ugly. The Port player lined him up from a good ten metres away, he had all the time in the world to make a safe jump but cleaned him up. At the end of the day I know it wasn't his intention but it was incredibly reckless, why does the footyworld completely ignore this incident but then want to throw the book at Dangerfield?

As I said, if it was a fist or an elbow - with no intent at all - it’d be 6 weeks.

What happens here?

 

[steve4445]

Ugly, vey very ugly. The Port player lined him up from a good ten metres away, he had all the time in the world to make a safe jump but cleaned him up. At the end of the day I know it wasn't his intention but it was incredibly reckless, why does the footyworld completely ignore this incident but then want to throw the book at Dangerfield?

so he lined him up from 10m away but yet wasnt his intention? which is it.

His eyes are solely on the football

 

[Broar]

so he lined him up from 10m away but yet wasnt his intention? which is it.

His eyes are solely on the football

Both. Obviously no one runs into a contest looking to hurt anyone like that.

But he's run for a good 10m to get to a contest, he's had plenty of time to make a decision on what to do. For me he's mistimed his jump, flying knees shouldn't be making contact with an opponents head. It's reckless.

I think at the end of the day we have two options here, either we say nah who cares this is footy or we make some changes to the rules. Surely there should be some duty of care to Taylor here, he can't do anything at all in this incident to avoid the contact to protect himself.

If this was a tackle or a bump you'd say he choose to do that action made reckless contact to the head - suspension.

I don't think you should ban big marking/spoling attempts like this but if you clumsily hit someone in the back of the head you probably should cop a suspension for it.

 

[archerboy]

Wasn't even paid a free, how can anyone expect any change to the rules

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

----> Curtis Taylor Hit

Holy **** that was brutal, that can easily fracture a skull.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Holy fu** that was brutal, that can easily fracture a skull.

Worse than that. The possibilities are horrific.

 

[Chief]

Any video?

 

[Broar]

Wasn't even paid a free, how can anyone expect any change to the rules

It's pretty scary right? Like with the Danger almost instantly the commentators were discussing the possibility of suspension. With this incident no one gave it a passing thought. I just hope we never get to the point where something like this happens and the player simply won't get up again.

 

[PP34]

It’s a contact sport. You can’t remove all incidents like this without fundamentally changing the game.

While there are marking contests this sort of thing will always be possible. You can’t jump in the air without the potential for your knee ending up collecting someone.