All the news and decisions from the AFL Tribunal after round 13

The footy world is in uproar after Hawthorn captain James Sicily copped a lengthy suspension for a dangerous tackle. See all the results from a big night at the tribunal here.

Dan Butler is free to play after getting off his rough conduct charge. Photo by Phil Hillyard

Hawthorn captain James Sicily has failed to have his dangerous tackle charge downgraded at the AFL Tribunal and will miss the next three matches.

Despite showing significant remorse for the incident which left Brisbane Lion Hugh McCluggage concussed, the tribunal found Sicily was to blame for the ugly incident.

It is the second time the Hawks defender has been suspended this season. He was playing his first back against the Lions after serving a one-match ban for making head-high contact with St Kilda’s Anthony Caminiti.

Sicily was challenging the careless grading of his dangerous tackle on McCluggage - which would clear him entirely - while accepting the severe impact and high contact elements.

James Sicily copped a three-week ban. Photo by Michael Klein.

He described it as “like being in a washing machine” the continual motion he felt after he was pushed into the tackle and then had his teammate Tyler Brockman also make contact with him during the incident.

Sicily added that contact before the tackle with Brisbane defender Keidean Coleman had put him off-balance and he intended to focus on McCluggage’s hips and “disturb his arms”.

“I was sort of in disbelief that that was the outcome (concussion) of what just happened. It’s not a good feeling to see someone lie motionless,” he said.

Sicily went to the Brisbane change rooms post-game and spoke to Lions assistant coach Cam Bruce, who had previously worked at Hawthorn, to see if McCluggage was still in the rooms.

The pair then spoke where he assured the Lions midfielder that he didn’t mean to push him in the back at the end of the incident as he was getting up. He had been unaware McCluggage had been briefly knocked out at that time.

The Hawks pulled out all stops by calling expert evidence from a Deakin University biomechanics lecturer which the AFL tried to block.

Clubs including Adelaide, West Coast, Melbourne, Dogs, Port, Freo, Brisbane, GWS, Richmond did not bother showing last week’s AFL memo on dangerous tackles to their players, several because they believed suspensions were a lottery.

Tonight:
Butler cleared ✅
Sicily 3 weeks ❌ https://t.co/da3VWpTcH4

— Sam Landsberger (@SamLandsberger) June 13, 2023

Change the AFLs name to ATFL

Australian Touch Football League!

The game is cooked https://t.co/9PvcNmba2L

— Drew Semmens (@drewie_5) June 13, 2023

Appeal https://t.co/10e5F9yirx

— Jude Bolton (@Jude_Bolton) June 13, 2023

They were unsuccessful with Dr Liz Bradshaw saying she believed Sicily was “out of control because of the influence of (Tyler) Brockman. He’s lost control.”

But after less than 30 minutes of deliberation the tribunal panel of former Melbourne great David Neitz, former Adelaide AFLW player Talia Radan and chairman Jeff Gleeson found him guilty as charged.

“Sicily kept clinging onto McCluggage and kept rotating him,” Gleeson said. “We do not accept Brockman’s involvement caused an otherwise safe tackle to be dangerous.

“Sicily continuing to rotate McCluggage, pulling him down on his left arm and pinning his left arm caused this tackle to be dangerous.

“He could have released the left arm. Had he done so, McCluggage would not have been rotated across his body into the ground with such force.

“Accordingly, we find this was a dangerous tackle.”

MANSELL BANNED FOR THREE WEEKS

Richmond forward Rhyan Mansell has been banned for three matches after the AFL Tribunal ruled he concussed Fremantle’s James Aish with a bump.

The Tigers had tried to argue that Mansell was bracing and “not driving through in a classic bumping motion”.

They also claimed his attack on the ball was legitimate and it was only the final bounce of the ball which determined who was going to take possession.

Rhyan Mansell has been suspended for three weeks. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Mansell denied he could have slowed down or changed direction given the split second he had to make such a decision.

“If I had kept running straight on, I would’ve opened myself and both of us up to injury,” he said. “I don’t think I had any other option but to protect myself.”

The tribunal panel of Melbourne great David Neitz, former AFLW player Talia Radan and chairman Jeff Gleeson took 30 minutes to find Mansell guilty.

Gleeson said the tribunal was satisfied Mansell was in the act of bumping when he injured Aish.

“Although he approached the contest at speed, the vision shows that from a metre or two from the point of impact he turns and bumps Aish,” Gleeson said.

“This was not simply a reflexive or involuntary bumping into an opponent. It was a bump.

“This bump caused forceful contact to Aish’s head The question then arises as to whether Mansell was contesting the ball. We find that he was not.

“From a metre or two prior to the collision, he turned and bumped. His hands were not reaching for the ball.”

Mansell will be sidelined for a month given the Tigers have the bye following this weekend’s clash with St Kilda.

BUTLER BEATS ROUGH CONDUCT BAN

St Kilda’S Dan Butler has become the third player to get off a dangerous tackle charge at the AFL Tribunal this season.

After widespread outrage at the MRO decision to cite the Saints forward for his tackle on Sydney’s Nick Blakey, sanity prevailed at the tribunal with former players Jason Johnson, Shane Wakelin and chairman Jeff Gleeson taking just 30 minutes to dismiss the case.

Former AFL greats labelled the Butler verdict as a line in the sand for the game as frustration continues to grow at the AFL’s crackdown on tackling.

Butler had told the tribunal he would have been dropped if he hadn’t tackled Blakey, refuting the AFL’s assertion that he had other options.

Dan Butler is free to play after getting off his rough conduct charge. Photo by Phil Hillyard

“I tried to tackle him in a way where I rolled to the side so I didn’t give away a free kick,” Butler said.

He added that he released his arms to give Blakey an opportunity to brace himself before hitting the ground and that there weren’t two motions to the tackle.

In revealing the tribunal’s findings, Gleeson said it was inevitable given the speed Butler was travelling that the tackle would end with Blakey being taken to the ground.

“The question is how did he execute the tackle?,” Gleeson said. “Was the method reasonable in all the circumstances? We’re not persuaded that this was a two-action tackle.

“We consider that Butler did not drive Blakey into the ground with his legs. We note he had dropped to the side and had no real power from the commencement of the tackle.”

While finding Butler made a conscious decision to release Blakey’s arm so he could brace himself, Gleeson warned releasing an arm or not pinning an arm will not always be enough to avoid breaching the duty of care.

“Here, the fact that the tackled player will be brought to ground was inevitable and unavoidable was an important consideration,” he said.

“We find that this was not a careless act and the charge is dismissed.”

Butler is now free to take on his old side Richmond at the MCG on Saturday night.

Fellow forward Tim Membrey won’t be there as he won’t play at any level this weekend because of knee soreness.

Originally published as All the news and decisions from the AFL Tribunal after round 13