AFL injuries, reports: Doug Hawkins ready to give up on footy after Hayden Crozier’s one-match suspension for tackling
Doug Hawkins has come out in strong support of Hayden Crozier, declaring he has been left disillusioned with the game and tempted to stop watching after the Dog copped a one game ban for his tackle on Jack Mahony.
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Footy legend Doug Hawkins says Hayden Crozier’s one-match suspension for tackling has left him disillusioned with the game and he is tempted to stop watching.
The Western Bulldogs defender failed to have his rough conduct charge downgraded at the tribunal on Tuesday night and will miss Sunday’s clash against Carlton at Metricon Stadium.
Hawkins, a 300-game great of the Bulldogs, said players from his era couldn’t comprehend how a tackle that inflicted minimal damage on North Melbourne’s Jack Mahony warranted a ban.
“As a past player, and a ball player, of the ‘80s and ‘90s I’m disillusioned. The boy Mahony played the rest of the game out,” Hawkins said.
“You can’t tackle now, you can’t actually tackle. This is not because he’s a Bulldog – this could be any club – I looked at the paper this morning and thought, ‘(Match review officer) Michael Christian has got to be kidding, this is ridiculous’.
“There was no injury to the guy, which I think is critical, and it wasn’t a sling it was a normal tackle.”
Hawkins contacted the Herald Sun seeking clarification as to why Christian suspended Crozier.
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WATCH THE INCIDENT IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
The AFL Commission changed the tribunal guidelines last month so any dangerous tackle could be judged on the potential to cause injury – therefore punishing the action instead of the outcome.
That explanation frustrated Hawkins.
“So the potential of injury is what we go on now?” he said.
“Our boy Crozier, No.9, he just followed through with a tackle. There was no lock the arms or nothing – the arms were clear.
“You know what it does for me, it turns me off the game. I love the game – I love footy – but it turns me off it.
“I got brought up on tackling and playing the game, even though I didn’t tackle a stack.
“It really frustrates me to see a player who’s just doing what he’s been doing since he was a 10-year-old and he cops a week.
“Here’s a bloke who has been taught the same tackle that he did on Saturday night since he was playing under-12s, has never pinned the arms at any stage, the player was not hurt and – I now know the rule has been changed – but the potential of being hurt?
“You won’t be able to tackle anymore. I’m talking on behalf of a lot of the 80s and 90s players who I reckon would be disillusioned with the great game that we all love.
“It was totally opposite to what (Shaun) Burgoyne did. It makes me not want to watch it. I lose interest in watching the game.”
Hawkins said Crozier’s tackle didn’t even deserve being penalised with a free kick. Mahony was taken off with the blood rule but returned to the field and played out the match.
AFL football boss Steve Hocking and general counsel Andrew Dillon pushed to tighten the tribunal rules after Christian did not suspend Burgoyne for his sling tackle on Patrick Dangerfield in Round 2.
“We want to be clear – protection to the head is our highest priority,” Hocking said.
“We want all players at all levels and all age groups to understand these tackles shouldn’t be part of our game.”
Hawkins said that while Burgoyne’s tackle was a “vicious sling” – while pointing out the Hawthorn champion had “credits in the bank” as a 380-game champion – there was nothing wrong with what Crozier did.
“This bloke isn’t playing on Sunday because of that tackle – to me that’s embarrassing,” he said.
ROOS SUFFER DOUBLE BLOW WITH STARS IN DOUBT FOR DONS
– Rebecca Williams
North Melbourne is bracing to be without midfield stars Ben Cunnington and Shaun Higgins for Saturday night’s clash against Essendon at Metricon Stadium.
And captain Jack Ziebell’s availability also remains uncertain as he faces a fitness test on his injured hamstring this week after the Kangaroos enter their Queensland hub.
The Kangaroos’ heavy 49-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night came at a cost with Cunnington finishing the match on the bench after aggravating a back complaint when he copped a first-quarter knock.
It’s understood the injury to Cunnington was causing referred nerve pain down his right leg and the club is unlikely to take any chances with the tough midfielder after he missed the previous two matches with a persistent back complaint.
Higgins was also forced from the field in the final quarter for treatment on his knee. He will be assessed during the week, but is in doubt.
Forward Tarryn Thomas was also a second-quarter concussion victim and will be assessed during the week, but is expected to be able to resume training.
The Kangaroos said the injured players would all join the team when it shares a flight out of Melbourne to Queensland with Essendon on Monday.
Cunnington had been under a cloud heading into the Bulldogs’ clash and North coach Rhyce Shaw admitted after the match he might have made the wrong call playing him.
“He’s obviously had that issue coming in and it just didn’t get any better,” Shaw said.
“He was in doubt all week as we stated earlier in the week and he got up, we were confident and I made the decision to play him.
“It possibly was the wrong call, but we were really confident, to be honest, on all the evidence we were given … I was really confident with the way he was going and he warmed up really well, so it’s just what it is.”
Stringer to stay in Melbourne as scans reveal extent of injury
Essendon livewire Jake Stringer faces a spell of up to eight weeks on the sidelines.
After playing a starring role in the Bombers’ win over Collingwood, with three important goals on Friday night, the in-form forward left the MCG on crutches and with his right ankle in a moon boot after going down in the dying minutes of the match.
Essendon coach John Worsfold said Stringer had suffered a syndesmosis injury in the ankle and would have to see a surgeon.
“It looks like he will miss a number of weeks,” Worsfold said on Fox Footy.
“It’s a syndesmosis injury, I’ve only had the basic outline of it.
“Suffice to say he will be unavailable for a couple of weeks … generally they are at least a four week injury.
“We’ve seen players get back in that time if they have had surgery, but we don’t know what the outcome at the moment is.
“He will see a surgeon to see if that (surgery) is the road we go down.”
Surgery could rule Stringer out of action for up to three months.
Bombers general manager of football Dan Richardson said Stringer would stay in Melbourne to recover from the injury.
“It’s disappointing for both Jake and the club. He had a terrific game on Friday evening and underwent scans earlier today which confirmed the nature of his ankle injury,” he said.
“The club will fully support Jake in his recovery and he will complete his rehabilitation program in Melbourne over the coming weeks.”
SCANS REVEAL HOW LONG SAINT WILL BE MISSING
St Kilda veteran Dan Hannebery will face at least the next two weeks on the sidelines after suffering a minor hamstring strain.
In his latest soft-tissue injury setback, scans revealed minor damage to the former Sydney premiership midfielder’s hamstring.
Hannebery was forced from the field in the third quarter of the Saints’ win over Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
It’s understood the club expects the injury to sideline him for a minimum of two weeks.
Hannebery’s history means the Saints are unlikely to take any risks with his recovery.
It’s an unfortunate blow for the 29-year-old, who was restricted to just five games last year in his first season at Moorabbin due to soft-tissue injuries.
But Hannebery has made a positive start to the 2020 season for the Saints, playing in every game so far this year.
It’s expected he will join the team when the Saints relocate to the Sunshine Coast next week as part of the AFL’s Queensland hubs.
The Saints will be based in Noosa and will face Fremantle at Metricon Stadium in Round 6 next Saturday.
After the match, the 29-year-old said he was hopeful the injury was only minor.
“I just felt a little bit tight on the far side and tested my power when I came back on, felt a bit of a grab there and hopefully it’s just a minor thing, if anything,” Hannebery told Channel 7 post-game.
“I was feeling good to go back on but unfortunately it was still pretty tight there so hopefully it’s not too bad.
“Obviously, I had a pretty good run at it for a while since back-end of last year in terms of sessions and games, and was covering the ground well in the first half like the rest of the mids.”
Saints coach Brett Ratten was pleased with the victory and hoped Hannabery’s injury wasn’t serious.
“We are hopeful it is not torn, he’s just pulled up tight.
“So we thought we wouldn’t take that risk (by putting him back on).
“He’ll get a scan. He might miss a week.”
It was an otherwise impressive night for the Saints as big man Rowan Marshall, tough nut Jack Steele, youngster Nick Coffield and Jack Billings shone in the club’s third win of the season.
Carton veteran Marc Murphy was initially reported for striking Saints’ defender Jake Carlisle to the body, before being thrown out by the Match Review Officer on Friday night.
The MRO deemed the contact to Carlisle as insufficient force.
The pair have history after clashing verbally in a game a few years ago.
Marc Murphy got reported for this incident. pic.twitter.com/3z2RTKXNbh
— 7AFL (@7AFL) July 2, 2020
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