Footy legend Malcolm Blight has slammed the AFL and players over the recurrence of sling tackles in the game, and urged officials to crack down on the "dangerous" act with tougher sanctions.
Port Adelaide's Scott Lycett was given a four-match ban by the AFL tribunal for a rough tackle which left Crows star Ned McHenry concussed in Saturday night's Showdown.
Blight, who coached the Crows to two premiership crowns, told Sportsday SA that the sling tackle had to be urgently removed from the game, and the best way to achieve this was for the tribunal to come down harder on offending players.
"I would have gone five [games] this one, the next one gets six, and the next one gets seven," Blight said.
"Fancy seeing that on a footy ground and a male or female breaks their bloody neck.
"The game is tough enough from 360 angles without that rubbish.
"This is the most dangerous thing now. In our day it was elbows, knock you rotten, give you concussion, break your jaw - this is serious spinal stuff."
Blight was livid about the sling tackle's emergence in AFL and argued that serious spinal injuries were a major risk in the same way spear tackles have been a concern in rugby league, prompting the NRL to strive to eliminate them from the game.
"I would have gone harder and harder. I don't know Scott Lycett. He did it, but if you don't know you're in control of that you shouldn't be playing the game," Blight said.
"I hate it. It's the most hated thing I see in football now.
"Five, six, seven, eight [games], then the next one give them a year and then no one will do it and hopefully no one will get a spinal injury.
"They can't get away from this one, history says that this is going to go.
"I'm not having a go - we've all made mistakes on the footy field - Scott Lycett's made one.
"I'm serious. I would go harder and harder every time someone does this.
"It's the most dangerous thing that can happen. I'd rather stand under the ball with four blokes coming at you and I'll take my chances. Jump in the air and you've got some chance.
"Forget the size as I've seen little blokes do it to big blokes too, but once you're off balance and you start to dump people on the ground - out."
Port Adelaide released a statement this morning morning confirming the club had accepted Lycett's suspension, after he pleaded guilty to the charge of rough conduct for a dangerous tackle last night at the tribunal.
"Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as careless conduct with high contact and a severe impact," the club statement read.
"Having been referred directly to the Tribunal by the Match Review Officer, the club argued a three-week penalty would have been appropriate given other similar cases.
"After considering its position overnight, the club has accepted the four-match penalty."
Port Adelaide General Manager of Football Chris Davies said the ruckman's actions were a "mistake".
"Unfortunately, mistakes can be made in the heat of the moment," Davies said.
"Scott has privately expressed his remorse to Ned McHenry and has also done so publicly. As a club, we wish Ned well for his recovery."
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/malcolm-blight-slams-dangerous-lycett-mchenry-sling-tackle-afl-tribunal/7177371e-97a1-4237-88ab-cc5422ec3d58
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