"I reckon players might be cottoning on to this, and starting to play a bit possum."
- Jack Riewoldt thinks some players are starting to play for dangerous tackle free kicks.
https://twitter.com/FOXFOOTY/status/1664204659886792708
‘Playing possum’: AFL stars ’looking for frees’ amid dangerous tackle ban claims Tigers greatJono Baruch
Fox Sports
June 2, 2023Richmond star Jack Riewoldt believes players are starting to “play a bit possum” to win a free kick in the wake of the AFL’s dangerous tackle crackdown this season.
The dangerous tackle was on the agenda once again this week after four players contested tackles they were cited and received bans for at the AFL Tribunal this week.
Sydney’s Luke Parker and Fremantle’s Jaeger O’Meara became the 17th and 18th players respectively to be suspended for dangerous tackles this season but Carlton’s Adam Cerra and Adelaide’s Rory Laird were successful in beating their charges.
Speaking on Fox Footy‘s AFL 360 Plus, Riewoldt believes that there are “some clear cut ones” that players know have no place in the game anymore, but echoed the sentiment of Geelong coach Chris Scott – who recently said the Tribunal’s instructions on how to tackle were “very confusing”.
“There’s definitely an element of confusion about it,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.
“There’s clear cut ones, Nathan Broad’s tackle against Adelaide probably set the agenda for dangerous tackles being put back up in the microscope.
“We’re seeing these one-weekers now that are cropping up and you’re thinking that could be a dangerous tackle. I think slinging, dumping, dropping of the body weight is probably what the tribunal is looking at and what the match review officer is looking at.”
Riewoldt believes that players are using the knowledge that the umpires are looking for high contact and lowering their body position in order to win free kicks.
“I reckon players might be cottoning on to this, and starting to play a bit possum,” he said.
“I reckon players are looking for free kicks. As we’ve seen the high contact in tackles has become prevalent over the last decade of AFL. Now players will take advantage of how to get a free kick. Maybe it is just going limp a little bit and dropping down?
“It’s hard to see why some are being penalised with a week, even a free kick and some aren’t.”
St Kilda Hall of Famer Leigh Montagna said that upon looking at the four tackles that were to be contested at the tribunal this week he thought that there would be a chance that “this would be the first time some players would get off”.
Montagna believed that the game had “gone too far” the other way in penalising the outcome and was happy to see a correction the other way.
“I’m glad that they took them all the cases to the tribunal so we can all get a better understanding of what you can and can’t do,” he said.
“At the start of the year it was pretty clear, if you dump, drive or sling and the player gets hurt, you are going to be suspended.
“I felt this weekend we probably went too far. It was simply a case of if you lay a tackle and the player hits their head, you are going to be suspended and I didn’t necessarily agree with that.
“From where we’ve come from, we probably went a little bit too far that every tackle where a player hit their head they get suspended but I felt like we’ve come back a little bit to go, there’s got to be some sort of danger behind it to miss a week.
“I thought that there would be a chance that this would be the first time some players would get off.
“As a player you should now be able to understand, if it’s dangerous and there is a driving, dumping or slinging motion you are in trouble, but there is an element for momentum in a tackle, and if you try and take care, you should be let off.”
Riewoldt believes that the dangerous tackle debate is a “watch this space” at the end of the year as the players continue to seek clarity on what is legal and what isn’t.
“I think there will be a real big shake-up and hopefully for the playing group going forward, for AFL and AFLW there will be just a little bit more clarity on what it does look like,“ he said.
“I think this is a watch this space at the end of the year.
“I think there will be a real big shake-up and hopefully for the playing group going forward, for AFL and AFLW there will be just a little bit more clarity on what it does look like.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2023-afl-360-jack-riewoldt-leigh-montagna-afl-tribunal-dangerous-tackles/news-story/5bbbd8f354b7719122744fd6345b7d79
