AFL star David Mackay escapes suspension with bump on Hunter Clark deemed ‘not unreasonable’

Crows midfielder David Mackay has learned his fate after his bump on Hunter Clark divided opinion in the footy community this week.

David Mackay's bump on Hunter Clark divided footy pundits during the week.

Adelaide Crows veteran David Mackay has escaped suspension for his bump on young Saint Hunter Clark in the sides’ round 13 clash.

The ruling means Mackay will be free to line up for the Crows’ match with Carlton next weekend.

Mackay’s bump took place early in the second term of Saturday evening’s game and has been the subject of much debate in the days that have followed.

In an attempt to regather the loose footy, Mackay careered into Clark, leaving the 22-year-old with multiple jaw fractures that will sideline him for at least six weeks.

While some argued the veteran Crow only had eyes for the footy, the AFL said the midfielder’s contact was “unreasonable in the circumstances” in a statement released Monday.

In fronting the tribunal, comprised of jurors David Neitz, Paul Williams and Richard Loveridge and chairman Geoff Giudice, Mackay pleaded not guilty.

“I approached the ball on the ground like I’ve trained for and developed my technique over 15 years in the AFL,” he told the tribunal on Thursday evening.

“I saw Clark and (Crows teammate) Sam Berry in my peripheral vision but I was solely focused on the football; I was aware of their presence in the general area but having been focused on the ball primarily, I only saw them in the corner of my eye and wasn’t 100% sure of their exact whereabouts.”

The AFL countered that while Mackay may not have intended to break Clark’s jaw, “He must’ve known that a high-speed collision with a vulnerable player might result in serious injury.”

“It had to have been reasonable for a player to contest the ball in that way,” Jeff Gleeson, the AFL’s representative, argued.

“There are certain circumstances where to contest the ball is just not reasonable, and the howls of protest we sometimes hear that that’s a change to the game and a change to the fabric of the game, it’s not true.

“It was not only possible, it was likely, that high contact would occur … is that OK? Is that reasonable?”

The jury deliberated for close to an hour before finding Mackay not guilty, saying it was “not unreasonable” for Mackay to go for football.

Clark left the field following the bump. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Notably, the incident was not penalised on field. It was the first time in Michael Christian’s tenure as the AFL’s sole Match Review Officer that he referred a player in the men’s premiership to the tribunal without an initial charge being recorded.

Mackay’s bump proved divisive in the days after Adelaide’s last-gasp win over St Kilda.

Not everyone shared the AFL’s opinion that the incident was “severe”, with Geelong coach Chris Scott saying 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 on Monday night’s episode of AFL 360.

“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.”

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

On Thursday, Western Bulldogs supremo Luke Beveridge said: “I am just hoping like hell that he gets off and we can move on.

“His sole focus was the ball and he went 100 miles an hour, there’s no doubt about that.

“Do we feel for Hunter Clark? Absolutely. But we are always going to have casualties in our game. We can protect the head as much as we like, but the game is a 360 degree collision game. We will have casualties, we have to accept that. It’s not nice, but it’s going to happen.”

Adelaide has the bye this week and will play Carlton in round 15.