Zac Merrett tackle

[hirdylloydy1]

all this care over tackling yet jamie elliots sling tackle not cited, pettys spear tackle not cited. amateur hour at the afl

 

[Lets Roar like '44]

all this care over tackling yet jamie elliots sling tackle not cited, pettys spear tackle not cited. amateur hour at the afl

It’s not about what you see, it’s what the media/ commentators see…

 

[hawkman]

It’s not about what you see, it’s what the media/ commentators see…

There were probably 15-20 of those tackles over the weekend. If the producer doesn't want to highlight them then some will get away with it

 

[Alberto_Magnifico]

That's a bloody outrage, it is! They should take this all the way to the Prime Minister

 

[ferball]

This is ludicrous.

May as well ban tackling or ban the game itself cos of its inherently risky nature.

 

[ferball]

Further to that...

What's Merrett sposed to do? Let go? Not tackle properly or at all cos of the risk?

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

This is ludicrous.

May as well ban tackling or ban the game itself cos of its inherently risky nature.

Make players wear helmets

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

What about ruckman putting knees in the back or when a player goes for a specy and knees in the back of the head

Far more dangerous than a tackle

 

[raskolnikov]

The AFL can't have Essendon up and about. Guarantee if he wore black and white he'd have nothing to answer for.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

this is mind boggling.

Zach is expected, mid tackle, to undertake a detailed risk assessment in a millisecond and pull out. By the tribunals own words Zach should be aware where Sparrow's limbs are. Jesus...

Zach, next time. Just let him go and let him get the disposal off.

 

[HairyO]

The AFL can't have Essendon up and about. Guarantee if he wore black and white he'd have nothing to answer for.

If its a conspiracy against Essendon then why is Day the only one to get 2 weeks, when a number of other tackles were worse ?

 

[Toump Ass]

Hope so Patrick Cripps did and had his ban over turned on his second appeal

Cripps had his appeal overturned on a judicial error, a legal technicality basically. This loophole was closed in the off-season.

 

[Alberto_Magnifico]

this is mind boggling.

Zach is expected, mid tackle, to undertake a detailed risk assessment in a millisecond and pull out. By the tribunals own words Zach should be aware where Sparrow's limbs are. Jesus...

Zach, next time. Just let him go and let him get the disposal off.

Well one of those limbs chose to hold onto the ball rather than protect himself, so Merret is accountable for what "might" happen in a tackle and in the same amount of time Sparrow can't assess that he should let go of the ball?
Plus I want to know how the tackle was both pushing and pulling!

 

[Foxx]

Don't take them to ground at all then. It wasn't forceful. It was a perfect execution of a tackle.

No longer a perfect tackle.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Make players wear helmets

Helmets are useless.

Rough decision for Merrett, he clearly wasn't acting maliciously. Sometimes these things will happen on a footy field, they're gonna go the same way as "electing to bump" with "electing to tackle" and at that point we may as well wrap it all up.

This is predicated on the assumption Sparrow suffered no concussion which it seems he hasn't.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

What about ruckman putting knees in the back or when a player goes for a specy and knees in the back of the head

Far more dangerous than a tackle

Like Draper on McDonald?

 

[SloppyJoe]

For years now, most tackles where a player has the arms pinned and is slung, dumped or otherwise brought to ground and hits their head have been getting at least a week when the player gets concussed or has to come off for treatment.

If the player got up and played on then the tackler had nothing to worry about. Didn't matter how forceful the tackle was. Take your victim as you find them. Some blokes were unlucky where a lower force tackle resulted in a concussion. Others had no case to answer (or a fine at worst) even though they absolutely smashed someone into the turf because that someone just happened to be harder than a cat's head, jumped up and played on.

I can understand why this doesn't suit the AFL, particularly from a liability viewpoint. It's not a blanket discouragement from these types of tackles. Plenty of players would roll the dice, lay a hard tackle and hope the bloke they are tackling gets up. Most do get up. But some don't.

So it is clear which way they are going with this and if they keep it up (big if, it's the AFL after all, who are known to flip flop), then players will need to adapt their tackling techniques. They'll manage to do that I'm sure.

As for comparisons to marking contests...concussions/injuries are a lot rarer in those aren't they? Maybe that's the next one on the AFL's list once they've sorted out tackles.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Cripps had his appeal overturned on a judicial error, a legal technicality basically. This loophole was closed in the off-season.

Well * me then

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Well * me then

Was always screwed when charged there was nothing they could appeal on. I get why you did (important game and essential player), but it was always high Contact and medium impact. Low has to be a LOT lower force and you have to be very unlucky to be charged with low

 

[Ambrosia]

Like Draper on McDonald?

Actually would like a rule preventing what Draper did to McDonald. There has to be some sort of duty of care in football

 

[ferball]

Make players wear helmets

That might work, but it might not. At least its an extra layer of protection. I had some pretty serious dreadlocks when I played footy and they definitely helped in terms of getting belted in the head repeatedly at the bottom of packs.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

my tin hat view is that one club is owned by the AFL and the other is still being punished for a drugs saga 10 years on.

 

[Ari]

Merrett is not a superstar, nowhere near it.

Yeah, good one. Open your eyes mate.

 

[Ari]

It’s not about what you see, it’s what the media/ commentators see…

Nah it's not that this time for Merretts one. Commentators said bugger all and Sparrow sprung up like a, well, you get me.