Patrick Dangerfield’s tackle on Sam Walsh under fierce scrutiny

It took just 14 seconds for a massive talking point to arise in Carlton’s clash with Geelong, with a superstar under the pump.

It took just 14 seconds of Friday night’s huge clash between Carlton and Geelong for a moment to unfold that has divided the AFL world.

In a match that ended in a heavy 63-point Carlton win, began with the odd sight of brothers Tom De Koning of the Blues and Cats counterpart Sam De Koning rucking against each other.

Watch GWS Giants v Sydney SAT 4:35PM AEST | LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >

Patrick Dangerfield’s action seconds later ignited debate before the Blues marched to a 21.12 (138) to 11.9 (75) triumph.

With the ball in dispute just outside Geelong’s 50m arc, Dangerfield attempted to gain possession and handball to teammate Mitch Duncan when the play was broken up.

Carlton star Sam Walsh took possession and was instantly tackled by Dangerfield, who pinned both arms of the midfielder and drove him forward.

Walsh then crashed into the turf face first with the umpire immediately blowing the whistle and stating “dangerous tackle”.

It took a moment for commentator James Brayshaw to realise what had happened.

The De Koning brothers got the action underway. Photo: Michael Klein

“Good tackle immediately applied. Oh, a dangerous tackle,” Brayshaw repeated before a replay was shown. “Well, that will be looked at.”

His fellow commentators weren’t quite sure what to make of the tackle either.

“Here’s that dangerous tackle from ‘Danger’, looked like he tried to drop the hips first, it was that last motion,” Luke Hodge said.

“Gee that almost looked like Paddy was trying to hold him up and Sam was trying to make contact with the ground,” Brian Taylor added.

“But nevertheless I agree with the decision, dangerous tackle it was.”

Walsh didn’t appear to have any ill effects afterwards and some agreed the Blue had somehow managed to embellish the incident.

Channel 7 quickly posted a video of the incident on X with the caption: “Is Patrick Dangerfield in trouble for this dangerous tackle?”

Firstly Dangerfield pinned both arms of the Blues star. Photo: Michael Klein

Sam Walsh gets tackled into the turf by Patrick Dangerfield during the first quarter. Photo: Michael Klein

It quickly drew a wide number of comments.

One footy fan wrote: “Walsh had his arms pinned, felt that and threw his head forward into the ground to win the free.”

Another wrote: “No! Walsh threw he’s head into the ground.”

A third suggested: “Walsh is in trouble for staging.”

The Fox Footy panel then discussed the moment at quarter-time.

“Just want to get your thoughts on the Dangerfield tackle on Sam Walsh,” Garry Lyon began.

“It was always going to be a talking point, this has got all the elements of some issues for Danger.

“Both arms are locked away there.”

Dangerfield was returning for his first game since April 27. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“That’s trouble for mine,” Jack Riewoldt said. “Both arms pinned and then he’s dropped his body weight.”

“It’s a matter of how much contact there they actually believe there was with the ground,” Nathan Buckley added.

“Because the impact is going to be low. Sam Walsh has continued to play.”

Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph discussed the tackle at half-time.

“Just quickly on that incident with Sam Walsh and Patrick Dangerfield, I think that (Match Review Officer) Michael Christian would see red flags everywhere,” he said.

“I think the two factors he looks at are, is a player in a vulnerable position and is there excessive force.

“I think it’s absolutely a vulnerable position because his arms are pinned and the excessive force is shown when his head bounces off the ground.

“Some might say Sam Walsh exacerbated the contact, threw his head forward, I don’t think that’s the case and he certainly couldn’t brace himself.”

Ralph felt it was likely to be a one-week suspension.

There were plenty of others that agreed Dangerfield could be in trouble.

The 34-year-old Brownlow medallist is back in the Cats side for his first match since round seven and just his fourth of the year due to two separate hamstring issues.

“Potential to cause injury! Gone one week,” was one assessment.

“100% an accident but he’ll still get a week or 2 for that,” offered another.

“Absolutely. Big trouble. That head slaps the deck hard,” was another take.

The Blues dominated the first quarter. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Another footy fan took the opportunity to suggest so much uncertainty over the act was indicative of a broader issue with the sport.

“The AFL is the one in trouble,” they wrote. “If the public are divided on whether it was a completely legal tackle or should be suspension, it shows how f**ked the AFL and it’s system has become.”

Another took a humorous view of the moment when they posted a video of a chook raffle from the Hey Hey It’s Saturday TV show.

The Blues, who came into the match second on the AFL ladder, have dominated the early stages of the huge MCG clash.

The under pressure Cats had lost six of their past seven matches to slip to sixth heading into the game and they gave up the opening three goals of the match.

By quarter-time, the Blues led 5.3 (33) to 2.2 (14) and they extended that advantage by the main break, taking a six-goal edge into half-time.

The Cats fought back to win the third term, but Carlton were largely untroubled, marching to an impressive 63-point win.

Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield’s tackle on Sam Walsh under fierce scrutiny