AFL match review officer wants more options when it comes to suspensions but defends crackdown on dangerous tackles

News.com.au

5 hours ago

The AFL's match review officer is hoping to get 'more levers' to bridge the gap between lengthy and small suspensions but remains adamant the game is better for a crackdown on dangerous tackles.
Michael Christian also moved to debunk a theory that the outcome of incidents, particularly concussions, was the starting point for reports, declaring the bump and tackle remained 'integral' parts of the game.
A three-week ban given to North Melbourne's Paul Curtis for a run-down tackle that resulted in a concussion for Port Adelaide's Josh Sinn sparked widespread debate, with some coaches labelling it the 'perfect tackle'.
Christian defended the suspension but conceded there could be more flexibility in the table that landed on an automatic three-week ban, something he hoped would be fast-tracked by the arrival of former Brisbane Lions chief executive Greg Swann on the AFL executive.
But Christian also said the MRO's own review of the past three years made it clear that players had adapted to the crackdown on dangerous tackles and refined techniques to ensure they remained part of the game.
'We did a review after round of 12 of 2025, looking at the past few years. In 2023 there were 20 tackling suspensions, last year there were seven, this year there were three,' Christian said.
'We've had this situation where players have really adapted incredibly well to exercising a duty of care to their opponent.
'The game allows you to bump and allows you to tackle, it's an integral part of the game, but there needs to be a duty of care.
'In 2023, it was a real shift in terms of trying to clamp down on players, asking them to exercise a duty of care in the tackle.
'As the focus became defensive and on tackling, we tended to see people hurt.
'I would defy anyone who watches the game now, you can see the players when they tackle, they do exercise a large degree a duty of care.'
Christian said the players were in no doubt what was expected of them when it came to executing tackles despite having only 'split seconds' to make decisions.
'You can pin both arms, but you have to try, before that player's head hits the ground, try and loosen or release that grip,' he told SEN.
'The tackle can still be effective, but you've got to try and minimise the risk of injury by loosening or letting go in that downward action. To try and turn the player on to their shoulder to minimise the risk of head injury.'
The AFL has vowed to review the MRO operation that has so far this year given three-week bans to players for tackles that resulted in concussions, only for Fremantle captain Alex Pearce, whose bump ended with the same result, to be cleared at the tribunal.
It's a move Christian has welcomed, as he made it clear a concussion to one player would not always result in a suspension to the other player involved in the incident.
'I think, as many levers as I can have, it's appreciated,' Christian said.
'The AFL have put it on the table this is something they are looking at closely.
'There's no doubt there are highly careless acts and some probably at the low end of being careless. That extra discretion would be helpful.
'The absolute first point of call for me is to assess the conduct of an action. It's not all outcome based. Yes, outcome becomes a factor when an action is deemed reportable.
'Then impact does have a significant say, as in the Curtis case, but the act first needs to be reportable.'