Danger(field) in the sling

AussieRulesBlog is at a loss to understand the furore over the suspension handed out to Melbourne’s Jack Trengove for his tackle of Adelaide’s Patrick Dangerfield. We’re also struggling to understand the footy club’s statement that the tackle was executed “to a tee”.

The simple fact is that Dangerfield was slung to the ground rather than being dragged to the ground. The extra force associated with the slinging action makes that sort of tackle potentially very dangerous — as exhibited by the resulting concussion experienced by Dangerfield.

If Melbourne, or any other club, are teaching their players to sling their opponents in tackles, they’re exposing their players to enormous legal risk should the tackled player sustain a serious injury. If Melbourne, or anyone else associated with AFL football, thinks that a sling tackle is an appropriate action, they’re sadly mistaken.

We do have one area of dispute with the initial citing of the incident however. Contact was deemed to be high, and that wasn’t the case. It was the result of the slinging action that caused Dangerfield’s head to contact the turf. One less activation point in the initial report may have convinced Melbourne not to contest the charge.