Western Bulldogs midfielder Britney Gutknecht is facing a nervous wait at the AFLW tribunal after a crunching tackle left Sydney midfielder Paige Sheppard concussed.
With the incident referred directly to the tribunal on Monday, Gutknecht's season is on life support, with a minimum three-week suspension and only two regular season games left to play, should she be found guilty at the panel.
The MRO graded the act as careless conduct of severe impact with high contact.
READ MORE: 'Till we meet again': Aussie cricketer's son dies
READ MORE: Cricket world in mourning after passing of Indian legend
READ MORE: 'Formidable': World in awe of history-making minnows
During the third quarter of the Swans' 57-point win at Whitten Oval on Saturday, Sheppard received the ball at halfback before Gutknecht wrapped her up.
As Sheppard had possession of the ball and failed to notice Gutknecht's approach from behind, she was penalised for holding the ball but stayed down after the heavy impact.
She was helped from the field by Swan's medical staff before the club later confirmed she had suffered a concussion.
In the action, Gutknecht appeared to pin Sheppard's arms with her forward momentum and the force of the collision bringing Sheppard down heavily. However, Sheppard was not slung nor head driven into the turf.
At the time, two-time AFLW All-Australian defender and Fox Footy commentator Ruby Schleicher labelled the hit a "monster tackle".
"That is going to hurt in the morning," she said.
"You could see [Gutknecht] coming. Sheppard is just unaware of Gutknecht sneaking up on her.
"That is just a huge tackle."
Despite Sheppard being forced from the game with a concussion, Schleicher believed the tackle was "fair".
"I don't see any dirtiness in that," she said.
"It was pretty heavy on her head, wasn't it? I look at that – I still see a fair tackle. There's no doubt the match review [officer] will look at it because they have to I guess. The duty of care for the player.
"She's almost landed on her shoulders."
Fellow Fox Footy commentator Meghan McDonald agreed: "It's just a matter of being taken totally unaware.
"She didn't see her coming and wasn't braced for it.
"Technique wise, I don't know what more [Gutknecht could have done] … she went low and it was in the momentum and the follow through and she's hit her head on the ground.
"It's certainly a single motion … it's the pace at which she was running."
https://twitter.com/HarfSerious/status/1716369544242221407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Anything more than a three-match ban would set the longest suspension in the competition's history, after premiership Crow Najwa Allen was given three games for a bump in round seven.
The Bulldogs have no chance of playing finals footy having been glued to the bottom of the ladder this season and held winless.
Gutknecht will front the tribunal at 5pm AEDT on Tuesday.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.