‘No more tackling’: Teammates erupt as AFL Tribunal upholds Paul Curtis ban
Two senior Kangaroos players have slammed the AFL after the Tribunal upheld a harsh suspension for one of their teammates.
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Senior North Melbourne players have has slammed the AFL after the league’s Tribunal upheld a three-match suspension to Paul Curtis.
Curtis was put on report for a tackle on Port Adelaide’s Josh Sinn in North Melbourne’s loss to the Power on the weekend.
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The Kangaroos small forward wrapped his arms around Sinn, whose head fell into the Adelaide Oval turf, forcing Sinn to be substituted out of the game with concussion.
The Match Review Officer gave Curtis a three-match ban was upheld at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night despite the Kangaroos challenging the ban.
Curtis’s tackle was graded as rough conduct and careless with an impact of severe — the Tribunal defended all of those charges.
It’s safe to say Curtis’ suspension hasn’t gone down well at all with his teammates, with two senior players slamming the Tribunal on social media.
Luke Parker, who played his 300th AFL game on the weekend, described his side’s upcoming game against Essendon as a “touch football game”.
Parker wrote on Instagram: “Please attend our touch football game this Thursday night vs Essendon #nomoretackling.”
Kangaroos co-captain Jy Simpkin also shared his thoughts, saying the Roos had now been on the wrong end of two harsh Tribunal calls following Jackson Archer’s three-game suspension earlier in the year.
“Arch and now PC … smh”, Simpkin wrote.
Curtis has been one of North Melbourne’s best players so far this season, kicking 18 goals to be equal fifth on the Coleman Medal leaderboard.
The 22-year-old will now miss matches against Essendon, Brisbane and Richmond.
“We are asking a modern day player to weight up a whole plethora of outcomes in the heat of what is a fiercely competitive and combative sport,” Garry Lyon said on AFL 360.
“Geez we’re asking a lot. That chase down tackle...now you’re telling your players you must never have your feet leave the ground in a chase down tackle from behind.
“I do think the three-match suspension is inflammatory in all this. Had there been some judicious element to where it can be three down to one (week), that would take a bit of the heat out of this.
“This is going to rage. It will rage. It is incumbent on the players and the coaches, you’re going to have to modify.
“You can still chase down tackle, but if you knock them out in the process you’re taking your footy life into your own hands.”
Why Tribunal upheld Curtis ban
The Tribunal found it was rough conduct because Curtis wrapped both arms and propelled Sinn forward in the tackle.
It also noted Curtis made no or insufficient attempt to release either arm or attempt to roll Sinn sideways to avoid or minimise the risk of his head hitting the ground with force.
The Tribunal argued: “A prudent player would have realised that in executing a tackle in this way carried with it a real likelihood of Sinn’s head making forceful contact with the ground with the potential for a concussion.”
North Melbourne argued this was not unreasonable or careless conduct and that therefore Curtis should be free to play.
North Melbourne compared Curtis’ tackle to Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield’s tackle on Sam Walsh in 2024, where Walsh was left concussed from a similar tackle.
Dangerfield was initially slapped with a one-match ban, but that was overturned at the tribunal.
Carlton’s Adam Cerra and Adelaide’s Mitch Hinge will challenge their suspensions at the Tribunal on Wednesday.
Originally published as ‘No more tackling’: Teammates erupt as AFL Tribunal upholds Paul Curtis ban
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