AFL clarifies decision to refer David Mackay to tribunal over ‘severe’ incident

David Mackay’s bump on Hunter Clark divided punters and experts over the weekend and now the AFL has released a statement.

Mackay’s bump has been termed "sickening" and "ballistic".

The AFL has clarified its decision to refer David Mackay to the AFL tribunal for his controversial bump on Hunter Clark, despite the fact the Adelaide midfielder was not originally charged over the incident.

In an attempt to regather the loose footy, Mackay careered into Clark early in the second term of Adelaide’s win against St Kilda on Saturday night.

The bump left the 22-year-old Saint with multiple jaw fractures that will sideline him for at least six weeks.

Mackay’s bump divided opinion within the AFL community in the days that followed the game.

While some argued the veteran Crow only had eyes for the footy, a statement released by the AFL on Monday explained the Tribunal Counsel would argue Mackay’s contact was “unreasonable in the circumstances”.

“The AFL will argue that, regardless of whether Player Mackay was (1) contesting the ball, (2) bumping Player Clark or (3) both, he still contravened the general prohibition on unreasonable conduct (including in contesting the ball),” the statement read.

The AFL plans to contest that the “severe impact” and “high contact” of the incident should equate to a minimum of three weeks suspension.

St Kilda’s medical team attended to Clark on the field at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

In his tenure as the AFL’s sole Match Review Officer, Michael Christian has only once before referred a player to the tribunal without an initial charge. After a bump off the ball in 2019, AFLW star Nicola Barr was directly referred to the tribunal and served a one-match suspension.

It is the first time Christian has made the call in his officiating of the men’s premiership.

Mackay will face the AFL’s tribunal on Thursday afternoon, rather than on Tuesday as had been originally planned.

The incident continued to provoke debate on Monday night’s episode of AFL 360.

“What we’ve got to do, we’ve got to change the way the game is played because guess what? People are killing themselves,” The Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson said, referencing the link between repeated traumatic brain injuries and mental illness.

“We love this game but we’ve got to save the participants in this game.

“Too many people are getting hurt by this game … we’ve got to stop saying, ‘He’s going for the ball’. That was ballistic.

“The AFL has told us today that we no longer want that ballistic behaviour in the game.”

Geelong coach Chris Scott countered Robinson, but admitted the incident was “a tough one” to rule on.

“On first glance most football people that I know I think would take the view that if you approach the contest with good intent, to go for the ball, and there are unfortunate consequences, that you shouldn’t be held liable,” he said.

“But I think the other side of it is, the world’s changing. Not just footy.

“It’s incumbent on us to jump on board with that and forecast where we want the world to be in five or ten years’ time.

“I’m not sure where I sit on it right at the moment but I think it’s a conversation worth having.”