The AFL’s bid to guard gamers from concussion has gone into overdrive with tribunal sanctions for head-high contact already skyrocketing in 2024.
In a landmark case, St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster acquired a seven-game suspension on Tuesday evening for his ugly bump that concussed North Melbourne co-captain Jy Simpkin in Sunday’s observe match.
Webster will miss the identical quantity of matches former Sydney star Barry Hall did following his notorious punch that knocked out a defenceless Brent Staker again in 2008.
The AFL argued the Saints veteran ought to miss eight video games, which might have put him on par with West Coast’s Andrew Gaff for his 2018 punch that broke the jaw of Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw.
The tribunal as a substitute imposed a seven-game ban on Webster for the incident match overview officer Michael Christian graded as careless conduct, extreme affect and excessive contact.
Previous instances which were classed by the MRO as careless have by no means resulted in additional than a four-match suspension.
AFL tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson mentioned Webster was “extremely careless” and the 2024 tips included a brand new provision.
“The tribunal is not bound by any decision at the tribunal or MRO in a previous year and may reasonably exercise its discretion to impose a different classification or sanction that may have been imposed in previous years,” Gleeson mentioned when handing down the tribunal’s verdict.
“Having regard to, among other things, evolving community standards and an increased focus on reducing instances of avoidable, forceful high contact and preventing injuries, including concussions.
“There isn’t any purpose to imagine that neighborhood requirements evolve slowly or in a linear trend.
“The need to avoid head-high impact and the need to minimise the risk of concussion has never been more acute.
“There is an urgency about the necessity to proceed to do what is fairly crucial to aim to alter what’s admittedly uncommon situations of participant behaviour.”
The incident happened four days after Port Adelaide forward Sam Powell-Pepper received a four-game ban for a bump that concussed Adelaide defender Mark Keane.
St Kilda’s lawyer Adrian Anderson, a former AFL football operations boss, compared Webster’s conduct to Powell-Pepper, labelling them “very comparable”.
“The Powell-Pepper tough conduct was severe; this was worse, significantly worse,” Gleeson mentioned.
“The affect was violent and the results for Simpkin have been heavy.”
Simpkin has already been ruled out of the Kangaroos’ round-one game against GWS due to being in concussion protocols following the incident.
It was the third concussion the important North midfielder had suffered in the last 12 months.
The AFL, under new chief executive Andrew Dillon, has made concussion its top priority.
Melbourne premiership player Angus Brayshaw was recently forced to cut his AFL career short after scans revealed his brain had changed significantly following a concussion in last year’s qualifying final.
Former No.1 draft decide Paddy McCartin (Sydney), Marcus Adams (Brisbane Lions), Paul Seedsman (Adelaide) and Max Lynch (Hawthorn) have been additionally compelled into retirement on account of concussion points over the past 12 months.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
