No more confusion for coaches, players and fans over concussion tackles, writes Mark Robinson
MARK ROBINSON: The MRP has come down heavily on Brodie Grundy. The result means no one should be confused about players pinning arms and knocking out opponents.
Mark Robinson
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THE confusion about tackling was cleared up just before 4pm on Monday.
It came when the AFL announced Brodie Grundy was suspended for three weeks with the possibility of two weeks if Grundy takes the early plea.
No one should be surprised the MRP was so tough.
Not even Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley.
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It was, said Buckley, the perfect tackle.
That perfect tackle now has Grundy on the sidelines and you have to wonder if Buckley firmly believed it was the perfect tackle or was he trying shape the narrative ahead of the MRP decision.
You suspect it’s the latter.
Because if Buckley firmly believed it was the perfect tackle, which resulted in Ben Brown being taken to hospital, then confusion reigns. At least at Collingwood.
The fact is it was a perfect tackle until Brown was knocked out.
Grundy is one of the fairest players who plays a combative position and, from afar, it seemed he wanted to do was what every tackler wants to do: tackle to the ground and make it hurt.
The “hurt” stuff can’t happen anymore.
The old argument that tackling is part of the game and the risk of getting hurt or being concussed is part of the game doesn’t wash — can’t wash.
The game has changed because of concussion. It had to.
A combination of players’ health and the hundreds of millions of dollars in payouts in America’s NFL has forced the AFL to take a stronger stand on head knocks.
The money issue is important, but the fact that former NFL players have committed suicide due to depression because of repetitive head knocks is more important.
We can’t have long-term health problems for players merely for our entertainment for 26 weeks of the year.
The obvious discussion after Monday’s finding is what was the difference between Grundy’s act and Patrick Dangerfield’s act from a week earlier, and why Grundy’s act commanded an extra week.
Might be wrong, but would argue there was two motions with Grundy and more force, where as Dangerfield’s was one long motion and he appeared to try to take a duty of care with Kreuzer.
What we have learned in the past two weeks — players, coaches and fans — is if you pin a player’s arms and tackle him to the ground and concuss him, you will be suspended.
If players are in this position and are headed for the turf, they simply have to let go of the arms.
Grundy wasn’t being malicious, he was being old school.
That means tackling techniques will have to change — across all grades of football.
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