Courtenay Dempsey’s reckless tackle on Brett Deledio in last weekend’s Essendon versus Richmond game at the MCG was one of the scariest things I’ve seen on a football field, and it is one I hope to never see again.
Dempsey’s four-game suspension was probably at the lighter end of what could be considered an acceptable penalty for such a dangerous tackle, but stiffer sanctions need to be applied to ensure that this type of action is completely stamped from the game.
Anyone who disagrees should watch the sickening footage of former rugby league player Alex McKinnon being lifted off his feet and driven head-first into the ground in a tackle that not only ended his career, but put him in a wheelchair.
If you still feel nonplussed about the issue after seeing that, you are not human.
Deledio was lucky. He escaped with minor concussion and a sore neck but it could have been so much more.
To recap, Dempsey tackled Deledio from behind, lifted him from the ground, and flipped him backwards and head-first into the turf. It was a move more often seen in the WWE than on a football field.
Dempsey is not a vicious or dirty player. Until last weekend he had been a tribunal cleanskin. He is a ball player who on his day can be as brilliant as anyone, but more often than not struggles to hold his place in the Essendon line-up. With his career on the line and in a game that was slipping away from his team, he applied an extra vigorous tackle that went severely wrong.
Dempsey did not set out to hurt Deledio. His concern for his Richmond opponent directly after the incident was heartening to see. But his act was dangerous and his punishment warranted.
The danger of these tackles is in the lifting. As soon as a player’s feet are off the ground they have no way of balancing or supporting themselves. If their body is then tilted past the horizontal so that they strike the ground head-first, the potential outcomes are horrifying.
While the sling tackle has become contentious, with interpretations seeming to differ from one incident to the next, adjudicating on potential spear-like tackles could be as simple as rewarding a free kick to any player who is lifted off his feet, regardless of the outcome.
Tackles are designed to bring an opponent to the ground. This can be achieved without physically lifting a player off the ground. A free kick for any act of lifting would soon stamp out any habits creeping into the game along those lines – and if there is no lifting, then there can be no spear tackles.
Footballers at all levels know they face the risk of injury every time they step onto an oval, whether it be in the country or at the MCG. They live with that knowledge and accept it so that they can play the game they love.
Being lifted off their feet and driven head first into the ground is not what they signed up for however. That sort of tackling has no place in our game.
Thankfully such incidents are rare, but they need to be non-existent.
Tricky
Guest
Ha Ha Ha, very funny I'll pay that with a 50!
jax
Guest
4 weeks was too light a penalty for a tackle that could very have broken Deldidio's neck. 6-8 weeks would have been more appropriate. I agree that this needs to be stamped out of the game before someone gets seriously hurt.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
That oval shaped ball also makes things dangerous with its weird bounce and increases stoppages when it doesn't run free into space. BAN THE OVAL FOOTY!
BigAl
Guest
Just allow tackles that claim (or attempt to claim?) the player with the ball - no bumps, and no 'in the back' if the player is claimed (not just pushed) and is forced forward.
Swampy
Guest
I loosely have said it before but if we ban tackling all together this problem will be solved along with a bunch of others like too many stoppages, low scores, too many players around the ball etc, BAN THE TACKLE!
Swampy
Guest
That theory will be shown in full glory over the next few days.... Nostradamus like comment
pjm
Roar Rookie
How do Roar editors keep their jobs when they can't even put footage of events that are written about
Pope Paul VII
Guest
This is another outcome related to the full time, uber athlete. Paid to muscle up for hours to deal with the ever more massive units being churned out. Rugby League has the same issue. To really crack down you would have to suspend players regardless of outcome, like Atley's. The dangerous slide is pretty much gone now so stringent rules work. Although I think blokes getting to the ball down low are often being unfairly penalised when some dill is too slow to get the ball first and falls over.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Atley didn't donk his head though. That said the tackle is dangerous and needs to be discouraged.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
lol
kick to kick
Guest
There is a case for the AFL bucking the game's history and bringing in red cards for extremely dangerous play - the lifting tackle where the body goes over the horizontal being a primary example. In other words the offending player gets sent off. Perhaps the offender's team can still be allowed 18 players on the ground but the bench is reduced with that player no longer able to come on. In the heat of the moment the threat of immediate dismissal is a greater deterrence than a suspension in coming weeks.
Anthony Maguire
Guest
Dempsey got four, yet Shaun Atley laid a worse one and got off. What the hell?
Macca
Guest
The issues around the sling tackle were highlighted again on the weekend where Dempsey got multiple weeks for his tackle and Tom Bell laid what I thought watching live was a sling tackle but got rewarded with the free kick and a shot at goal. Until we get some uniformity over the action rather than just penalising the outcome this issue won't go away.
Stewart
Guest
Except it would be another rule with a grey area. Plenty of times a player is tackled from side on and driven off their feet. Who's to say they were lifted or not. This would be another rule that would have to have conditions on it and there is ralready too many of them.
slane
Guest
Dempsey made the classic mistake of not being Luke Hodge. Hodge would have only got 2 weeks.