Richmond’s Nathan Broad handed monster suspension for ugly sling tackle

Richmond’s triple premiership player Nathan Broad has been handed a monster suspension for an ugly sling tackle.

Nathan Broad has been suspended for four games.

Richmond defender Nathan Broad has been handed a four-match suspension for his sling tackle on Adelaide’s Patrick Parnell.

Broad was charged with rough conduct for a tackle on Parnell in Richmond’s Round 2 win over the Crows that left Parnell concussed.

The incident was assessed by the Match Review Officer as careless conduct, high contact and severe impact.

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The three-time premiership winner was sent straight to the AFL Tribunal and wasn’t given the chance to enter an early guilty plea.

At Tuesday night’s hearing, Richmond argued for a reduced three-game ban, citing Broad’s good character.

The Tigers’ legal representative said Broad showed immediate remorse after the hit on Parnell, sought out his mobile phone number and shared a text message Broad sent Parnell afterwards.

“I don’t want you to accept my apology but I shouldn’t have done it. Sorry mate, it was sh*thouse, hope you’re OK and recover well,” Broad’s text to Parnell read.

Broad will miss Richmond’s next four matches against Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs, the Sydney Swans and Melbourne.

Patrick Parnell of the Crows is tackled by Nathan Broad of the Tigers. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Parnell was in a bad way after the sling tackle. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

North Melbourne great David King called on the AFL Tribunal to come down hard on Broad after Parnell was substituted out of the game immediately.

Parnell will miss next Saturday night’s showdown against Port Adelaide.

King believed the Tiger’s star should be handed a monster suspension for the act which he described as both deliberate and intending to inflict maximum damage.

“I’m seriously interested in how many weeks they go for,” King said on SEN’s Whateley.

“I’m not happy with five (weeks), I think it’s six plus.

“This act, can we step through the difference between this and the bump?

“Most players go in just to make contact, they don’t necessarily go to hit the head and it’s part of our game.

“So to is tackling, but when you grab an arm and you know you’ve got that player – and often they’re light bodies – Patty Parnell is a light body.

Nathan Broad will miss four games. Photo: Michael Klein

“This is happening across the country, big kids tackling little kids, as soon as you know you’re slinging, you have a level of certainty of where the head is.

“You have got his whole frame in a wrap, including his arm, and when you give you the extra sauce at the end and really spin and rip that body with full force knowing the head is hitting the ground … these guys know, I won’t hear that they don’t know (the head is hitting the ground).

“It’s a deliberate act to inflict maximum damage.”

A lengthy ban being handed down sends a message that sling tackle is not acceptable and could help stamp it out at the grassroots level.

“He picked him up and spun him around. That’s the sort of action we’re trying to prevent because that can bring head injuries into play,” Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy.

“It’s not malicious, but it’s the wrong action.”