Eagles encouraged to appeal Nic Naitanui ban at tribunal

A string of former AFL players have criticised the decision to suspend West Coast star Nic Naitanui for a week.

Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui, left, leaves Port Adelaide’s Karl Amon face down after a tackle at Optus Stadium on Saturday. Picture: AAP

A string of former AFL players have criticised the decision to suspend West Coast star Nic Naitanui for a week for a heavy tackle laid on Port Adelaide’s Karl Amon on Saturday.

The Eagles are weighing up whether to challenge the ban offered to the ruckman, who was charged with rough conduct over an incident that left the Power player concussed.

Naitanui launched at Amon near the boundary line at Optus Stadium, with the Port Adelaide footballer’s head crashing into the turf.

It prompted a couple of Amon’s teammates to remonstrate briefly with the Eagle, who was penalised a free kick for a push in the back.

Match review officer Michael Christian said he assessed Port Adelaide’s medical report on Amon when deciding to grade the impact of the tackle as medium.

“This was a dangerous tackle, which we deemed to be unreasonable in the circumstances in that he drove Amon into the ground with excessive force while Amon was in a vulnerable position with his arms pinned,” Christian said.

“What we would like to see that instead of driving him into the ground with his arms pinned with excessive force, we would like to see Nic try and roll him and come down at the same time rather than being on top of him and driving him into the ground. That is the alternative.”

The Eagle did not, however, sling Amon. And footage of the tackle shows that Naitanui did not pin both of his rival’s arms.

The Port Adelaide player’s right arm, while holding the football, is clearly free.

The decision to cite the All Australian ruckman, who was also fined $1000 for attempting to trip Jasper Pittard, bewildered former players. Port Adelaide great Warren Tredrea used social media to ponder: “How is this a suspension? It’s a tackle, not careless conduct.”

Naitanui’s former teammate Xavier Ellis said the Eagle was a victim of a new rule called “too strong, too aggressive”.

Richmond legend Matthew Richardson described the penalty as ridiculous.

Campbell Brown deemed it an “absolute joke” and said the Eagles must appeal the ban.

Christian said Naitanui’s strength and size could not be considered as a mitigating factor.

“The reality is that unfortunately in our game, players have a duty of care and it is not within the rules that we can allow the taller players, for example, to go around and bump people in the head just because they are taller,” Christian told The Verdict.

“The game would fall into carnage. The reality is that each player must show a duty of care and in this particular case, I don’t think that Nic showed a duty of care to Karl Amon.”

A suspension would see Naitanui, who has been in sound form since resuming from a serious knee injury that sidelined him for all of 2017, miss a potentially pivotal clash against Greater Western Sydney.

The Eagles sit second, trailing Richmond on percentage, but could open up a significant advantage on the Giants should they topple them in the clash at Spotless Stadium on Saturday. West Coast do have cover in the ruck, with Scott Lycett performing well after an injury-riddled 2017.