{"id":84608,"date":"2021-06-13T11:25:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T11:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=84608"},"modified":"2021-06-13T18:57:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T18:57:36","slug":"afl-world-split-over-mro-call-on-brutal-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=84608","title":{"rendered":"AFL world split over MRO call on brutal clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AFL tribunal is set for another landmark case after the brutal clash between Adelaide<\/a>'s David Mackay and St Kilda's Hunter Clark was referred directly by the MRO.<\/p>\n

The first-half clash in Adelaide's six-point win over the Saints<\/a> saw Mackay flatten Clark while going for a football in dispute, leaving the Saints defender with a broken jaw.<\/p>\n

In a rare occurrence, Match Review Officer Michael Christian sent the case directly to the Tribunal without a charge attached to it, the first time he has done so since assuming the role close to a decade ago.<\/p>\n

The clash occurred when both players attacked the ball on the wing, with Clark getting his hands on the ball a fraction before Mackay did. The Crows veteran's shoulder made contact with Clark's head.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

The AFL has cracked down on head-high contact this season, particularly when players elect to bump when they could have tackled, such as Patrick Dangerfield's hit on Jake Kelly in Round 1 which saw him miss three matches through suspension<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, the Tribunal has also shown discretion when it comes to players having their hands on the ball in a contest, as Mackay did in the clash with Clark.<\/p>\n

Hawthorn star Jaeger O'Meara and Gold Coast veteran Jarrod Harbrow were both able to dodge suspensions for similar incidents because they got to the ball.<\/p>\n

A number of AFL journalists were left baffled by the call to refer the clash to the Tribunal, with many initially expecting the incident to be overlooked.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/RalphyHeraldSun\/status\/1404010072506703879<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/maxlaughton\/status\/1404010118551728129<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/RonnyLerner\/status\/1404015637400211458<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sammy__Edmund\/status\/1404016685191815169<\/a><\/p>\n

Clark is set to miss most of the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair multiple fractures.<\/p>\n

"Hunter will likely miss six to eight weeks, which is hugely disappointing," Saints CEO Simon Lethlean said.<\/p>\n

"He put his body on the line and head over the footy, which are some of the things we love about Hunter's game, but ultimately he's come off second best in this instance."<\/p>\n

Due to the severity of the injury sustained by Clark, if Mackay is ruled to have bumped on purpose by the Tribunal, he could face a suspension of at least four weeks.<\/p>\n

\"Hunter<\/p>\n

Former Port Adelaide captain Warren Tredrea also slammed the decision<\/a> to send the clash to the Tribunal, arguing that it was a normal, yet unfortunate, football collision.<\/p>\n

"This makes no sense for a player fairly contesting the ball, not bumping," he tweeted.<\/p>\n

"Surely you have to be charged with something before being sent off to the Tribunal. How do you defend yourself?<\/p>\n

"We can't forget it's a contact sport, injuries happen. Can't be deemed a bump when Mackay's arm is outstretched trying to win the ball."<\/p>\n

Former St Kilda midfielder Leigh Montagna ripped the call and suggested that the Tribunal's eventual decision could "change the fabric of the game".<\/p>\n

\"Jarrod<\/p>\n

"It shows that it's a dog's breakfast. No one has any idea now," he told Fox Footy.<\/p>\n

"When you look at that incident, it was two players fairly contesting the ball in my opinion.<\/p>\n

"There's no reportable offence for what I've seen there. I don't know how you can get reported for contesting the ball fairly and causing an accident.<\/p>\n

"He's not electing to bump, David Mackay, he's electing to go for the ball. He has tried to win it, it was a brutal contest and at the last second he turns his body to protect himself.<\/p>\n

"I think on a football field every player has the right to protect themselves from getting hurt. He has a duty of care to himself. He had no other alternative in that situation and I'd be staggered if he gets suspended at the Tribunal."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, Kangaroos premiership player David King argued that Mackay should be suspended due to the fact that he made a concerted decision to charge at the contest.<\/p>\n

"I'm looking at the health and well-being of the players long term," he said.<\/p>\n

"We've got so many players on the sidelines now with their lives being altered significantly at 21-22 years of age. They've got 80 years of their lives to come.<\/p>\n

"You can look at all the stills you like, it's not about photos. This is about decision-making in the path from Mackay.<\/p>\n

"We need to coach that out of players and we need to suspend that out of the game."<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The AFL tribunal is set for another landmark case after the brutal clash between Adelaide's David Mackay and St Kilda's Hunter Clark was referred directly […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84608"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84608"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84610,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84608\/revisions\/84610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}