‘Just slide him carefully’: AFL great fears for future of tackle as star Roo penalised

AFL great Jason Dunstall says he’d be “devastated” if North forward Nick Larkey was suspended for his tackle that was deemed “dangerous” on Thursday night – only days after teammate Paul Curtis copped a three-match game.

Larkey gave away the free kick when he chased down and then pinned both Bomber Jaxon Prior’s arms and rolled him as he hit the Marvel Stadium turf.

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But Dunstall, and fellow Fox Footy commentators David King and Leigh Montagna, were puzzled at what Larkey was supposed to do given it was during Curtis’ tribunal hearing earlier this week that it was established players needed to attempt to roll an opponent in such a chase down tackle.

“Off the Paul Curtis incident where they are saying ‘If you’re running down from behind, you can’t try and drop your knees and your momentum take them forward, so you’ve got to try and roll them’ – that’s what Nick Larkey did in that situation,” Montagna said.

“Then you’re in danger of getting done for a dangerous tackle!

“Just watching it – so that is exactly what they are asking them to do: run down, tackle and roll them. But then if you roll them too much because of the momentum it’s going to be a dangerous tackle!”

Dunstall joked Larkey had instead rolled Prior “too far” and that’s what the free kick was for.

“He needed to roll him just a half turn and just slide him carefully on his side and then everything would have been sweet!” he laughed.

But that’s where the joke ended as Dunstall implored the AFL to come up with rules players can follow.

“We’re asking a hell of a lot from the players – in fact we’re asking too much,” he said.

“We need to put some rules in around it so they can execute and know they are not going to get rubbed out.

“At the moment, they can tackle and it’s the result of that tackle that can cost them a suspension through no fault of their own.

“We’ve got to give them something! We’ve got to give them an out – a course of action. They don’t know what to do at the moment.”

When asked by King if he thought Larkey was in trouble, Dunstall replied: “Oh god, I hope not. I’d be devastated if he got rubbed out for that,” he said.

Prior was not injured in the tackle and was able to play out the match.

“Had he come up with a concussion, well then (Larkey’s) probably facing a suspension,” Dunstall added.

“At some stage the tribunal or the AFL has got to come out and say this is what you need to do. And then we won’t rub you out

“I just hope we don’t get to the stage where you’re not allowed to tackle from behind – what do you do?”

Already, North Melbourne footy boss Todd Viney urged Roos players to “let sleeping dogs lie” in an interview with ABC Radio after Luke Parker and Curtis both accused the AFL of turning the game into “touch football”.

Curtis had copped a three-match ban for his chase down tackle that saw Port’s Josh Sinn concussed when his head hit the turf while his arms were pinned.

Melbourne legend Garry Lyon already suggested too much was being asked of modern players “in the heat of a fiercely competitive and combative sport”.

Speaking after the loss to Essendon, Alastair Clarkson was strong in his disappointment over the Curtis ban.

“There’s a duty of care to the game,” he said.

“If a player hasn’t got any intent other than to try to lay the tackle … it’s not a sling. It’s a football action.

“Football action – he gets three weeks. Someone swings the arm off the ball incident, gets less! Doesn’t make sense.”