Geelong Cats skipper Patrick Dangerfield has had his one-match ban withdrawn after mounting a successful appeal at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night.
Dangerfield was initially slapped with a one-match suspension for rough conduct when tackling Blues midfielder Sam Walsh during the first quarter of the Cats’ 63-point loss on Friday night.
In the game’s opening play, Dangerfield innocuously wrapped Walsh up in a tackle, bringing him to ground.
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However, replays showed Walsh’s head hit the turf, with Dangerfield pinning both of his arms.
Match review officer Michael Christian deemed Dangerous’ hit to be careless conduct with medium impact and high contact as he failed to exercise enough duty of care to the ball carrier.
Walsh was uninjured in the tackle and played out the remainder of the match, picking up 33 disposals and kicking a goal in the victory.
Geelong petitioned to free Dangerfield, calling for the charge of rough conduct to be downgraded based on “reasonability”.
The club accepted the grading of the offence as medium impact and high contact.
“The only real question: Was it unreasonable in the circumstances for Patrick Dangerfield to do what he did?” Geelong’s representative Ben Ihle said.
Dangerfield gave plenty of evidence, arguing that his act was within the rules of the game and that he made every effort to control the landing mechanism and force of the tackle as he pulled Walsh backwards.
The president of the AFLPA board also stated that he had “absolute clarity” of the incident as it occurred early in the match when he was not yet fatigued.
“My first reaction is to grab him, tackle him, pin him first and then, as you see in the vision, bring him to ground. [I was] fully aware of where the rules are at, cognisant of being first to the ground and of how hard and forceful my tackle is,” he said.
“I was trying to grab any part of his body within the rules of the game.
“I knew I was tackling him from behind, I was conscious of not driving through Sam as that would result in a free kick, so my first reaction once I grabbed Sam and had a hold of both arms was pulling him back to stop both us moving forward … then I slid my legs underneath his to absorb the force once I’d taken him to ground.
“And then I pulled my chest and my chin back in order to absorb that pressure as I’m aware where the competition is at with regards to head injuries and how we’re assessing tackles.
“I was really clear at the very beginning [of the tackle] … I pinned both arms, I’m not disputing that, but that’s also a way I can control his body weight, which you clearly can’t do with one hand.
“As soon as I’m able to get a decent hold, straight away it’s hold on as tight as you can and then pull back.
“I can’t control his landing if I’m directly behind him so what I’m trying to do is fall to the side with my legs out in front to pull my body weight back … for him to land almost over my leg. In this tackle it was the safest way I could control how he landed.”
In the AFL’s cross-examination, lawyer Andrew Woods highlighted that Dangerfield jumped into the air during the act.
The premiership player quipped: ”Your feet leave the ground whenever you run.”
Woods also argued that Dangerfield could have released one of Walsh’s arms to allow him to brace for contact with the ground and reduce the impact, a statement Dangerfield did not agree with.
“He could not have exerted a force stronger than the way I was trying to pull him back. It was safer for me to be in control of the tackle than to leave an arm flailing,” Dangerfield said.
“Absolutely, I was in control.”
The tribunal deliberated Dangerfield’s case for 40 minutes before reaching its verdict.
Ultimately, the tribunal agreed with Dangerfield’s reasoning that he had shown “considerable care” despite Walsh’s head making contact with the ground.
As a result, the midfielder is available to suit-up for the Cats’ round-16 match against the Bombers on Saturday evening.
Geelong have won just one game from their last seven outings.