North Melbourne forward Paul Curtis will miss three matches after a late hit on Brisbane’s Cam Rayner. AFL tribunal today upheld the penalty for his rough conduct in a tackle on Port Adelaide’s Josh Sinn. The crash led to Sinn experiencing a concussion as well. Now, coaches and analysts are arguing over just how harsh the discipline ought to be.
Curtis’s tackle, deemed a “football action” by both North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson and Curtis’s direct coach, has drawn parallels to a similar incident involving Jackson Archer, who received a three-match ban for his collision with Luke Cleary. The AFL’s stance of strict liability to hand Curtis a three-game suspension for what seemed an innocuous action has angered a number of premiership coaches.
Damien Hardwick, head coach of the Gold Coast Suns, examined Curtis’s tackle under a microscope. The first thing he sought to do was give his players a lesson in what not to do on the field. He expressed skepticism regarding the length of the ban, stating, “If it was a one-week (ban) for a football act, we’re probably not having the discussion that we are.” Hardwick told us that he thinks one week would have been more appropriate.
Carlton head coach Michael Voss similarly condemned the AFL’s decision, describing the three-game suspension as excessive. “It shouldn’t be a three-week incident for Paul Curtis,” he remarked. Voss now joins fellow coaches in the spotlight like Luke Beveridge, in fighting back against the penalty.
Beveridge voiced his frustrations with the current regulatory structure of the AFL. He stated, “The regulatory framework and the matrix that the AFL use is outdated now,” emphasizing the need for an overhaul. He added, “We need to make sure that we look after the players who are playing the game and their intentions are pure.”
Regarding Curtis’s situation, Beveridge noted, “I feel like Paul’s were in the action, and he’s extremely unlucky.” He signaled that these types of tragedies deserve more scrutiny than knee-jerk fines.
The AFL tribunal’s decision has raised some serious questions about player safety and what kind of punishments should be stipulated in contact sports. Coaches across the league have expressed their opinions on how best to address player conduct while maintaining the integrity of the game.
