Striving for perfection has made our AFL stars too scared to tackle
Brisbane midfielder Josh Dunkley believes AFL players are becoming hesitant to tackle after teammate Charlie Cameron received a three-match ban for a “perfect tackle” on West Coast’s Liam Duggan.
Cameron, GWS forward Toby Bedford and Gold Coast midfielder Alex Davies are all challenging their respective three-match bans at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.
Gun forward Cameron is due to miss crunch matches against Sydney, Gold Coast and St Kilda after he ran in to tackle Duggan and drove the Eagles co-captain backwards.
Duggan hit the back of his head on the turf and was subbed out of Sunday’s game with concussion.
The incident was assessed as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, drawing a three-match ban.
Brisbane teammate Dunkley didn’t think Cameron could have done anything to change the outcome.
You might like
“It’s a tough one. I was right there as a player and I obviously didn’t know the outcome of what happened to Duggan, but I thought it was the perfect tackle,” Dunkley said on Tuesday.
“I was telling him, he was a bit rattled by it instantly, but I said, and the umpire, everyone was saying at the time that it was a perfect tackle.
“So it’s a very harsh penalty, but I mean, what do you do? It’s hard to know as a player these days.
“Personally I go into tackles now worried about what the outcome’s going to be.
Stay informed, daily
“So you’re very hesitant in what you’re doing and I feel like that’s going to impact everyone across the competition because guys are going to potentially hold back a little bit, and I don’t know if that’s what we want.”
GWS are challenging Bedford’s rough conduct ban, which was graded the same as Cameron’s.
Bedford pinned Tim Taranto’s arms in a fourth-quarter tackle and the Richmond midfielder’s head hit the ground as the pair fell forward.
Taranto appeared dazed when he got up and did not pass a concussion test.
Gold Coast’s Davies was charged with forceful front-on contact after bumping Lachie Jones in the head while the Port player was bent over the ball.
The incident was classified as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
Suns teammate Malcolm Rosas Jr has accepted a one-match ban for striking Logan Evans with an off-the-ball elbow.
