Hawthorn captain James Sicily has been hit with a three-game ban for his dangerous tackle that left Brisbane star Hugh McCluggage concussed.
It capped a bumper night at the AFL tribunal where St Kilda forward Dan Butler has had his controversial ban for a dangerous tackle on Sydney’s Nick Blakey thrown out.
Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell also copped a three-game ban for a bump that left Fremantle winger James Aish concussed.
Sicily claimed his conduct wasn’t careless as he’d targeted McCluggage’s hips and was following advice from the AFL’s dangerous tackle crackdown to try and have his opponent land on himself and soften his fall.
But the star Hawks defender said contact from teammate Tyler Brockman on McCluggage prevented him from being able to brace himself with his free arm, in what his lawyer labelled a “classic rotating tackle”.
“The combination of him being on top of me and his other arm being free is more than enough duty of care,” Sicily argued.
“It’s not a good feeling to see someone lie motionless,” he added while saying he was “sort of in disbelief” when he saw McCluggage concussed.
The AFL argued Brockman didn’t significantly influence the action, while tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson said it appeared Sicily had pulled down on McCluggage’s arm to apply force after Brockman had passed.
“We do not accept Brockman’s involvement caused an otherwise safe tackle to be dangerous, Sicily continuing to rotate McCluggage, pulling down on his left arm and pinning his left arm (did),” Gleeson said.
Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley tweeted that Jack Ziebell was criticised for not going at the ball or tackling an opposition player in a head-on contest on the weekend while James Sicily “wins a HTB free for what the commentator described as a great tackle. 3 weeks. This is the modern game.”
Earlier, Butler was freed to face his former club Richmond on Saturday, the tribunal finding he hadn’t breached his duty of care in his run-down tackle of Blakey last Thursday night and overturning his one-game.
The Saints livewire said he’d tried to roll with the tackle so as not to give away a push in the back free kick and argued he’d had no choice but to tackle as “I don’t want to get dropped”.
His lawyer said there was no alternative but to tackle and pointed out Butler had released Blakey’s arms before he made contact with the ground so he could brace his fall.
Gleeson agreed and his panel dismissed the charge, finding Butler’s momentum made some contact with the ground inevitable.
“He had dropped to the side, had no real power from the commencement of the tackle … he did not drive Blakey to the ground with his arms,” he said.
Meanwhile, Richmond’s Mansell is out for three weeks after the tribunal found he’d bumped Aish without contesting the football despite his pleas to the contrary.
Mansell argued his eyes were on the football the whole time and he’d made a last-minute decision to brace for impact once he knew Aish would win the loose ball.
AFL counsel Lisa Hannon said Mansell had “effectively ran through” Aish and his “turn-and-tuck” body motion meant he was no longer contesting the football, an assertion the tribunal agreed with.
The tribunal’s decision to free Butler is likely to be met with positivity from the wider AFL community.
Before the hearing Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said he’d be “horrified” if Butler was suspended for the tackle, among a sea of other criticism for the ban.
Magpies duo sticking around
Collingwood veteran Scott Pendlebury will play on next year, while coach Craig McRae has signed a contract extension to the end of the 2026 AFL season.
The 35-year-old Pendlebury will continue for a 19th season in 2024, putting the Magpies great in sight of his 400th AFL game. Only five VFL/AFL players have reached that milestone.
Pendlebury has played 370 games, a club record, and could join Brent Harvey (432 games), Michael Tuck (426), Shaun Burgoyne (407), Kevin Bartlett (403) and Dustin Fletcher (400) in the exclusive club.
“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of this club for one more year at least,” Pendlebury said in a statement on Wednesday. “I have completely bought in to what ‘Fly’ (McRae) and the coaches have created and I am loving it.
“Being a one-club player was one thing, something I am proud of, but my main motivation is to do all I can to assist the coaching group to develop our squad.
“As a collective we are loving our football and have an appetite to just getting better and succeeding which really excites me.”
Last year, McRae – in his debut season as Magpies coach – took the club to a preliminary final in which they were one-point losers to Sydney.
This season, Collingwood are premiership favourites and top the ladder with 11 wins and two losses.
“Leading this team and being a part of this great club is something I am incredibly grateful for and I look forward to continuing on this journey,” McRae, a former assistant at Richmond and Brisbane, said.
“In my 16 years of coaching I haven’t seen a group quite like this one, there is an incredible fight and real belief but above all there is a genuine support and care for each other.
“It is not lost on me that I have a key role to play at this club but so too does every player and member of staff. We are committed to getting better together.”
Collingwood’s football manager Graham Wright said the re-signings were a show of faith.
“Craig and Scott … have both been instrumental to the development of our football program,”‘ Wright said. “There is stability with ‘Fly’ as the senior coach for another three terms and Scott as a key leader of the side for at least another season.
“The commitment from both men today speaks volumes for the future of this football program.”
Cool for Cats: Dangerfield’s back
Geelong are set to welcome back their “A-grade” stars, headlined by captain Patrick Dangerfield for their blockbuster clash with red-hot Port Adelaide.
The Cats will front up at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night with Dangerfield due to return alongside Mitch Duncan, Max Holmes and Jack Bowes.
Dangerfield has not played since being subbed out of Geelong’s round-eight win against Adelaide with a hamstring injury.
The Cats have taken a cautious approach with their star midfielder, as they did successfully ahead of last year’s run to the grand final.
“My take is (Dangerfield) could have played (before the bye) and I still stand by that now and I only really bring that up to make a point of how confident we are that he can come back in and play well this game,” Cats coach Chris Scott told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to get something like our A-grade contingent back, we think we are well placed to more than break even with those guys in the midfield so then it becomes a matter of who can use the ball effectively going forward.
“The guys we are bringing back are a little bit more spread across the ground and we have been thinking about how we reintroduce them over the past month so we are more confident about how seamless this will be than some other situations.”
Geelong snapped a three-game losing streak two weeks ago when they defeated the Western Bulldogs in a hard-fought contest at Marvel Stadium.
The reigning premiers (6-6) sit ninth but will jump back inside the top-eight if they can end Port’s club-record 10-game winning streak.
Defender Oisin Mullin will miss the clash with the Power due to an adductor injury.
with AAP
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