AFL 2021: The verdict and fallout from Adelaide Crows veteran David Mackay’s tribunal hearing
From comparing the hit to 100m sprint times in the Olympics to specialist sports data programs – this is how David Mackay won his case at the tribunal.
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Crows veteran David Mackay has escaped suspension for his contentious collision with St Kilda’s Hunter Clark on Saturday night.
In one of the most anticipated cases this century, the tribunal on Thursday night found the 32-year-old Crow not guilty of rough conduct for the incident, which occurred during the second quarter of the St Kilda-Adelaide game in Cairns and broke the Saint’s jaw in multiple places.
The jury of David Neitz, Paul Williams and Richard Loveridge ultimately decided it was not unreasonable for the Adelaide midfielder to contest the ball the way he did or make contact as he had.
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They deemed both players got to the contest “at virtually the same time and both were seeking to collect the ball”.
Speaking after the three-hour hearing, which included more than 50 minutes of jury deliberations, Mackay said he was relieved at the outcome.
“All week my thoughts have centred around Hunter and his wellbeing so I’m really glad to see his recovery process has started well,” said the 239-game Crow, who reached out to the Saint after the game.
“It was never my intention to cause any harm, I was only just trying to win the ball.”
Mackay said fronting the tribunal would not change the way he played but he supported the AFL’s charter of wanting to protect players’ heads and necks.
“We play a game that unfortunately accidents do occur,” he said.
Adelaide’s legal counsel Andrew Culshaw used a biomechanics expert, a graphic analysis program and a lesson in Olympic history as part of the Crows’ defence.
The club’s primary arguments were Mackay went for a 50-50 ball, used a “good technique” taught to footballers from a young age and that his action was not a bump.
Culshaw said the injury to Clark was unfortunate but it came from a “pure football collision”.
He pointed to Mackay getting to the footy just 0.04 seconds later than the Saint as proof the ball was in dispute and it was a reasonable way to attack the contest.
Culshaw put that into context by saying there had only been one 100m men’s Olympic final since 1980 to be decided by under that margin, so AFL QC Jeff Gleeson’s suggestion that Mackay was never going to get to the ball was “garbage”.
He also said that although Clark had been closer to the ball, it was trickling away from him towards Mackay in wet conditions.
Adelaide’s second witness, data and football strategist Chris Sheedy, had used sports graphic analysis program PIERO to show a still frame that suggested Clark actually travelled further than Mackay - 10.35m to 10.22m - to the point of impact.
“This was a 50-50 ball,” Culshaw said.
“There is nothing unreasonable about a player going hell for leather at a 50-50 ball.
“If we start punishing players who are genuinely showing proper technique, we’ll end up with more head injuries, not less.”
The AFL had been seeking a minimum three-game ban for an incident that was initially ungraded but later sent directly to the tribunal by executive general manager of football Steve Hocking to be argued as “careless conduct, high impact and severe impact”.
Culshaw conceded the TV broadcast angle looked “ugly” for Mackay, saying when he initially watched it himself he thought he would be suspended for the incident.
But the Crows’ representative said the better view was a reverse one, which showed Mackay’s head position was such that he did not take his eyes off the ball.
It supported Mackay’s earlier evidence when, as the first of Adelaide’s three witnesses, he said his eyes remained focused on the footy before the contact, even when he saw Clark in his peripheral vision.
Mackay said his technique at the point of impact was what he had used in his 15 years of playing in the AFL and he did not want to put himself in position for a potential head or neck injury by going headfirst.
He said he could have stopped to tackle, but “at no stage did I have that belief I couldn’t get to the ball first which is why I made the decision I did”.
Adelaide’s third witness, biomechanics expert Dr Robert Crowther, supported Mackay’s view that he only became airborne once he collided with Clark and was not off the ground beforehand.
In his summary, Culshaw also suggested Crow Sam Berry pushed Clark, propelling him to the ball first.
Gleeson tried to convince the jury that what Mackay did to Clark was foreseeable because he came to the contest at high speed and knew he was not going to get there before the Saint.
“I am not saying Mackay intended to break Clark’s jaw, but he must have known that a high-speed collision with a vulnerable player might result in serious injury,” Gleeson said.
“It was not only possible, it was likely that high contact would occur ... and injury was likely.”
Gleeson said contesting the footy was “not a licence to cause a serious injury to another player”.
He argued it was not likely Mackay could get there first so, rather than trying to gather the ball, he could have tapped it or tackled Clark.
“We see it all the time – it’s not cowardice or a lack of courage for the contest,” he said.
“The bravest players do it all the time (and make instinctive decisions).
“There are certain circumstances where to contest the ball is just not reasonable.”
Gleeson said Mackay “shaped to bump”, was “moving in an upwards motion”, consistent with bumping not collecting the ball and said there was “frightening” potential for injury.
Earlier, Crowther could not answer Gleeson’s question about a bump because he did not know what the term meant in an Australian football context, explaining he did not follow the sport and was a six-foot-seven basketballer.
While Mackay is free to play after Adelaide’s bye this round, Clark is set to miss six to eight weeks due to his injury.
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