Isaac Smith says AFL needs to give more clarity around dangerous tackles

Dangerous tackles have become the hottest topic in the AFL this season and a four-time premiership winner says it’s time for everyone to get on the same page.

Isaac Smith says everyone needs to be on the same page. Picture: Michael Klein

Four-time premiership player Isaac Smith says a discussion “needs to be had” between players, coaches and AFL officials about how to best address the issue of dangerous tackles in the wake of former teammate James Sicily‘s three-match suspension.

A day after incoming AFL boss Andrew Dillon said there was “no confusion” over what players can and can’t do, Smith, last year’s Norm Smith medallist, said the only thing they were sure of was that contact with opposition players’ heads was “out of bounds”.

But a series of mixed returns from the AFL tribunal in recent weeks, and outrage for Sicily’s three-game ban for what Smith called “executing a tackle”, moved him call for all parties to come together and work out a clear way forward.

“As players we have been told the head is completely out of bounds and we have a duty of care to the opposition player,” Smith said on Tuesday morning.

“But in saying that, tackling has been trained and coached a certain way for 10, 20, 30 years. Coaches are very big on taking a player to ground and locking up the ball and making sure the ball doesn’t spill and opposition are able to pick it up and score because turnovers are the No.1 scoring area in the game.

Hugh McCluggage was knocked out in a tackle by Hawthorn’s James Sicily. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“Umpires want the play to play out so they are not blowing the whistle as quickly. I think there’s many factors to what is going on and I think we probably need to sit down as a bit of an AFL community, players, coaches and the AFL and understand exactly what we want, other than we all know we don’t want the head to be hurt, but how we are going to get there?

“I think that’s a discussion which needs to had.”

There have been 21 dangerous tackles penalised by the match review committee and tribunal this season.

Smith said he was confident players could “evolve” and adjust techniques to reduce that number, but players had to know how and more communication was needed.

“The players are very quick at adaptings and changing their methods and techniques,” he told RSN.

“I think it will evolve over the next 12 or 24 months, but I don’t think we are going to get there quickly. I think it’s going to play out for a little bit longer.”

Kane Farrell is about to be tackled by Isaac Smith. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

On Monday, Dillon said the AFL would not shy away from the safety aspect of the tackle clampdown and it would continue regardless of ongoing tribunal outcomes.

“What I will say about the dangerous tackles, MRO (match review officer) and our tribunal system, it‘s all about protecting the health and safety of our players,” he said.

“And the AFL, we won‘t apologise for that.

“Any time there is avoidable head contact, we want to try and take that out of the game, so we will continue to do that.”

Originally published as Isaac Smith says AFL needs to give more clarity around dangerous tackles