Tribunal delight for Tom Lynch, Harry McKay as Will Day and Gary Rohan suspended for dangerous tackles

The AFL has made a major statement on dangerous tackles, suspending a Hawk and a Cat. Plus, the tribunal has made a call on spearheads Tom Lynch and Harry McKay.

Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Richmond forward Tom Lynch has had his tribunal case thrown out.

The tribunal on Tuesday night deemed Lynch’s collision that left Western Bulldogs defender Alex Keath concussed at the MCG on Saturday was not a bump and did not constitute rough conduct.

Match review officer Michael Christian had referred the case directly to the tribunal, grading it careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.

Lynch said he was focused on the ball and had already jumped when he realised he had gone under the footy.

The Tigers’ reigning best-and-fairest winner said he then saw Keath in his peripheral vision so braced for contact to protect himself.

“I just rotated my body so the contact that was coming front on … came on the side to prevent injury to me, otherwise it would’ve opened me up,” Lynch said.

The contest between Tom Lynch and Alex Keath didn’t constitute a bump. Picture: Michael Klein

The AFL’s counsel, Andrew Woods, argued Lynch chose to bump Keath once he determined he was not going to get the ball.

Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson KC said Richmond’s footage of Lynch’s eyes never leaving the ball and his line not deviating was important in their decision, supported by him not clenching his fists or following through with force.

Gleeson said it was not careless if a player did no more than brace for contact if they misjudged a marking contest or mistimed a leap.

“As we’ve repeatedly said, players must do all that they reasonably can to minimise the risk of head injuries to other players,” Gleeson said.

“If we found Lynch had not genuinely braced for contact, had not had eyes for the ball, likely deviated, we would have had little hesitation in upholding the charge.”

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick did not think it was a reportable offence post-match on Saturday, saying Lynch was being tough in the contest.

Lynch will be sidelined regardless for two months after having foot surgery.

McKay delight as Blue gets off suspension

Carlton has received a big boost for its Gather Round clash with Adelaide after getting spearhead Harry McKay’s one-game rough conduct suspension downgraded to a fine.

The Blues on Tuesday night convinced the AFL tribunal that McKay’s strike on North Melbourne young gun Harry Sheezel last weekend was of low impact, rather than medium, allowing him to line up at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.

A slide show titled “kick accuracy interference technique” and footage of an incident involving Brisbane midfielder Rhys Mathieson were key parts of the Blues’ evidence.

Carlton argued that McKay did not strike Sheezel and used screenshots to suggest it was instead a push that the club trained to get opponents off balance and reduce the accuracy of their kicks.

Match review officer Michael Christian had deemed McKay’s shove to be careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.

Sheezel did not sustain an injury and played the rest of the match.

Carlton’s counsel, Peter O’Farrell, urged the panel to take into account the low impact finding of Mathieson’s strike on Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett from the 2021 qualifying final, saying McKay was less culpable.

The high contact that was initially graded as a one-game suspension. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The AFL’s counsel, Andrew Woods, said McKay’s action had potential to cause serious injury, particularly a concussion or to Sheezel’s neck, which meant the medium impact classification was appropriate.

Woods believed the 25-year-old could have changed his trajectory to avoid contact, reduced his speed or done something different with his arms to minimise the risk of the collision.

“It’s the action of his arms combined with his momentum that wasn’t reasonable in the circumstances,” Woods said.

While the tribunal found McKay’s action to be a strike, it determined the Carlton star tried to minimise the impact with more glancing contact and by avoiding moving in a way that would increase the force so there was no real risk of Sheezel suffering a head injury.

Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson said the panel also found it difficult to deem McKay’s action to be worse than Mathieson’s.

The Blues head into the match against the Crows unbeaten in second spot with three wins and a draw, while in-form Adelaide has a 2-2 record.

MRO makes big statement as pair banned for dangerous tackles

The AFL has made a major statement on dangerous tackle technique after suspending Hawthorn’s Will Day and Geelong’s Gary Rohan for a combined three matches on Tuesday.

Day was hit with a two-match ban for dumping Cat Brad Close into the turf, while Geelong sharpshooter Rohan was suspended for one match for slinging Hawks’ defender Changkuoth Jiath on Easter Monday.

The rulings maintain the league’s hard-line stance on dangerous tackles and high bumps in a clear effort to try and protect players’ heads and limit brain injuries amid rising concussion concerns.

It is why match review officer Michael Christian used the ‘potential to cause serious injury’ clause to upgrade the impact grading in the Day and Rohan verdicts to reflect the seriousness of the action rather than the outcome.

Jiath and Close were both uninjured in the tackles and played on, however the league has made it clear it does not want players being driven head-first or slung into the turf.

Day received the tougher penalty because he had both of Close’s arms pinned when the Hawthorn midfielder pounded the Geelong small forward into the turf with a crunching tackle.

Will Day has been suspended for two matches for this tackle. Picture: Michael Klein

Close’s head clearly hits the turf after being wrapped up around the torso and tackled to the ground with force, triggering a high impact grading and a two-match ban.

It was similar to the Ryan Burton incident from Round 2 where the Port Adelaide defender slung Collingwood’s Jamie Elliott to the ground at the MCG. Burton was also hit with a two-game ban.

Day will miss the clash against GWS Giants in Adelaide on Sunday, followed by the clash against the Adelaide Crows the following week in Tasmania.

Rohan is also set to miss the clash against West Coast on Sunday in Gather Round after his tackle on Jiath was graded medium impact, attracting the one-match suspension.

Rohan spun Jiath in a tackle and whipped him into the ground as part of an extended double motion. Jiath was lucky to avoid injury after putting out his right arm to help protect his head.

Richmond premiership defender Nathan Broad was suspended for four matches for his dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Patrick Parnell in Round 2 after the impact was graded severe, sending him straight to the tribunal.

Lloyd Meek was offered a $2000 fine for kneeing Mark Blicavs in a ruck contest.The incident had angered Geelong coach Chris Scott who said the act needed to be stamped out of the game.

Day and Rohan set to face bans

Hawthorn’s Will Day and Geelong’s Gary Rohan look set to miss Gather Round as the AFL takes a hardline stance on dangerous tackles to help protect players’ heads.

The league is keen to maintain a consistent line on sling tackles and will have to consider using the ‘potential to cause serious injury’ clause to upgrade the force of the tackles from Day and Rohan on Easter Monday.

Under the AFL’s match review guidelines, the two tackles look set to be graded careless conduct, high contact and medium impact as part of rough conduct charges.

Hawthorn’s Will Day tackles Brad Close. Picture: Michael Klein

It means both players would miss one match. Geelong play West Coast and Hawthorn take on GWS Giants on Sunday.

Hawthorn midfielder Day dumped Geelong’s Brad Close into the turf and Chankuoth Jiath was lucky to avoid injury after he was slung to the ground by Rohan on Easter Monday.

Even though Jiath and Close were uninjured in the tackles and played on, the ‘potential to cause serious injury’ upgrade helps the AFL punish the action rather than the outcome.

The incidents might have been graded as low impact because there was no injury several years ago, but the league wants to make clear its endeavour to protect players from concussions where possible in 2023.

The league is keen to stamp dangerous tackles out of the game and Day used force to tip Close’s upper body into the ground.

Likewise, Rohan spun Jiath in a tackle and pounded him into the turf as part of an extended double motion.

Richmond premiership defender Nathan Broad was suspended for four matches for his dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Patrick Parnell in Round 2 after the impact was graded severe, sending him straight to the tribunal.

Originally published as Tribunal delight for Tom Lynch, Harry McKay as Will Day and Gary Rohan suspended for dangerous tackles