Carlton superstar Chris Judd would have copped an eight-week ban for his 'chicken wing' tackle in the NRL

CHRIS Judd would have faced a whopping eight-week suspension for his now-infamous "chicken-wing" tackle had he made it in the NRL.

Chris Judd

CARLTON superstar Chris Judd would have faced a whopping eight-week suspension for his now-infamous "chicken-wing" tackle had he made it in the NRL.

Judd, pictured, was slapped with a four-week suspension on Tuesday night by the AFL for his sickening tackle on North Melbourne midfielder Leigh Adams.

And the punishment continued to be the hottest talking point in footy circles south of the border yesterday.

Judd expressed his remorse after the marathon tribunal hearing and Blues officials yesterday opted not to appeal against the ban.

Experts tipped Judd would miss anywhere from two to five weeks.

The Daily Telegraph learnt last night Judd would have spent twice as long on the sidelines had he made the "chicken-wing" tackle in league.

The NRL's match review committee chairman Greg McCallum said Judd would have been slapped with a grade five dangerous contact charge, which carries a minimum 725 base points, or what equates to a seven- to eight-week suspension.

"It is always hard to speculate on incidents in different codes," McCallum said. "Putting pressure on a limb and taking it past the normal range of movement is always the key to those charges, which Chris Judd has done.

Chris Judd

"In rugby league, "chicken-wing" tackles are done to slow the play-the-ball, but in the AFL there is no play-the-ball, so you can only wonder what he was trying to do."

The NRL has had a colourful history with chicken-wing tackles, which first surfaced via the tackling techniques of the Melbourne Storm - the NRL club based just a few kilometres from Judd's Carlton.

Blues coach Brett Ratten now has the immediate concern of trying to string some wins together without his dual Brownlow medallist.

Ratten added the club would accept Judd's punishment, and it was more a case of "bad technique" than bad sportsmanship.

"I've worked with Chris for five years ... and his character and what he does as a leader, he's in the best people I've seen play the game and the spirit that they play the game, too," Ratten said.

"I can tell you Chris wasn't there to harm him (Adams).

"Anyway, he's been done, he's got four weeks. But if you talk about character and what people bring to

the game, he's one of the finest I've seen. I can vouch for Chris every day of the week."

The high-flying Swans will be one club happy to see Judd rubbed out given they play Carlton at Etihad Stadium in three weeks' time.

Judd's manager, Paul Connors, kept the issue bubbling yesterday when he accused the AFL of interfering with the judicial process, which included pre-hearing comments by match review chairman Mark Fraser.

The AFL denied any wrong-doing and requested a transcript of the radio interview with Connors.

Connors later backflipped.

The manager issued a statement through the AFL's media department that said: "I jumped to incorrect conclusions and stated them as fact ... I apologise."