AFLW tribunal: Bulldogs player Britney Gutnecht free to play after big hit

Amid a firestorm of online criticism for Bulldogs player Britney Gutnecht’s pending tribunal case, the Dog has learnt her fate for the big hit.

Britney Gutknecht. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Western Bulldogs midfielder Britney Gutknecht has escaped suspension for a tackle on Sydney’s Paige Sheppard after having her rough conduct report thrown out at the tribunal.

Gutknecht had faced a potential three-match ban but the tribunal on Tuesday night found that she could not have executed the tackle differently or with more care.

Sheppard was concussed from the incident, which occurred during the third quarter of Saturday’s game at Whitten Oval.

The match review officer had graded the tackle as careless, severe impact and high contact.

Bulldogs counsel Adrian Anderson told the tribunal that Gutknecht needed to move at top speed to get to Sheppard before she disposed of the ball, creating very significant momentum.

He also said Gutknecht relinquished her left arm during the tackle and that Sheppard’s bottom hit the ground first, in proof that the Bulldog did what she could to not drive her into the ground.

Gutknecht won a holding-the-ball free kick for the tackle.

“The speed I was moving at created the force,” Gutknecht said.

“It wasn’t an intentional thing for me to drive her into the ground.

“I had no other option but to tackle and attack with speed otherwise she would’ve kicked the ball away before I got there.”

The start of the tackle.

Britney Gutnecht brings Paige Shepperd to ground.

AFL representative Sally Flynn argued that Gutknecht’s tackle was inherently dangerous and was unreasonably executed given she had realistic alternatives, such as keeping her feet.

She said Sheppard was in a vulnerable position.

“I accept that there was a release of the left arm, but that was at the end,” Flynn said.

“Sheppard couldn’t brace (to avoid head contact) in any meaningful way.”

The AFL had pushed for a three-match sanction for Gutknecht, which would have been the equal-longest in the women’s competition’s history.

Last week Adelaide defender Najwa Allen copped a record three-game ban for a high bump that concussed Western Bulldogs player Kirsten McLeod.

But the tribunal ultimately deemed Gutknecht’s tackle was not a careless act.

“Her need to reach for Sheppard meant that she was not able to keep her feet or draw Sheppard towards her,” tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson said.

“Gutknecht actually managed to release Sheppard’s left arm and we find that she could not have reasonably done so any earlier than she did.

“We find that Gutknecht did not add to the momentum of the tackle with either her legs or right arm as such a way to drive Sheppard into the ground.”

Sheppard will miss the Swans’ clash with Collingwood this weekend due to concussion protocols.

#FreeBritney: AFLW’s tackle tribunal call slammed

- Lauren Wood

Former AFL Women’s players have hit out at the league’s call to send Bulldog Britney Gutnecht to the tribunal for her tackle on Swan Paige Shepperd.

Vision of the tackle from Saturday’s clash at Whitten Oval was shared on the AFLW social media channels, prompting a chorus of support for the Bulldogs player in the comments.

The post on Instagram has received more than 200 comments within 18 hours – vastly more than any other recent post on the AFLW page.

Premiership former Bulldog Hannah Scott – who retired in 2022 – slammed the decision as “an absolute joke”.

“Because someone was hurt from a completely fair tackle (it has been sent to the tribunal),” Scott wrote on Instagram.

“It’s a contact sport, sometimes it’ll happen.

“If she (Shepperd) jumped straight up and was fine there wouldn’t even be a conversation.”

Ex-Magpie Meg Hutchins wrote that she considered the act to be the “perfect tackle” and that the tribunal call was “hard to believe”, while former Carlton AFLW coach and ex-AFL tribunal member Daniel Harford declared the tackle fair, referencing pop superstar Britney Spears in the process.

“Tackled above waist and below shoulders,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“No sling or double motion.

“Shepperd lands on her back.

“‘Girls’ play hard too. Not for the first time on social media, it’s time for #FreeBritney.”