Channel 7 commentator Dale Thomas has raised concerns about the future of the high mark after the AFL tribunal upheld Rhyan Mansell’s three-match ban for rough conduct.
The AFL tribunal deliberated for nearly half an hour after a 90-minute hearing on Tuesday night and rejected the Richmond forward’s arguments.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dale Thomas alarmed after Rhyan Mansell ban.
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Mansell’s hearing was widely seen as a test case after the AFL issued a memo last month, warning players against pushing opponents into marking contests.
The Richmond forward was charged after he pushed St Kilda defender Liam O’Connell into the path of Tigers key forward Tom Lynch and St Kilda’s Anthony Caminiti.
O’Connell was concussed and match review officer Michael Christian graded Mansell’s incident as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
Thomas predicted a potential “alarming” situation in the future.
“I think this is a real issue going forward. I’m more than concerned, I’m really alarmed as to what is going to start to happen and what we are going to rule out of the game,” he said on The Agenda Setters.
“We’ve heard Eddie Betts come and say that’s part of forward craft — not pushing the player directly into a contest, but getting some separation so you get front and centre.
“What’s next? Is it going to be the high mark, is it going to be the speccy that everyone comes and wants to see at the football with a knee going into a player’s head?
“If that’s the outcome and the action then I am rather concerned about it.”
Kane Cornes added that it’s a “disaster”.
The tribunal found Mansell breached his duty of care as a player.
“We find that this was rough conduct,” Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson KC said.
“The force of the push is a significant factor here — it went well beyond what a reasonable player would consider prudent in the circumstances, particularly the circumstances that the push was in the direction of the path of the ball.”
Mansell argued he had pushed O’Connell to gain separation in a marking contest.
The Tigers also argued the Tribunal had not charged West Coast player Reuben Ginbey for a pre-season incident where he pushed Richmond youngster Sam Lalor into a marking contest, leaving him with a fractured jaw and concussion.
The Ginbey-Lalor incident was among a string of pre-season incidents that prompted last month’s AFL memo.
Earlier on Tuesday, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said Mansell’s case differed from other incidents that had escaped match review sanction.
“The one that’s in front of the Tribunal today has got a number of key differentiators to the other ones … and that will play out tonight,” Dillon told reporters in Adelaide.
Dillon refused to label Mansell’s tribunal as a test case, saying he was reluctant to comment on individual hearings.
“We don’t want to necessarily talk here about that individual incident as it’s before the Tribunal and through the MRO,” he said.
“What I will say is that the whole MRO and Tribunal process is about protecting the health and safety of our players.
“That has always been the forefront of what we’re trying to do.
“So whether it’s a test case or not, I think that it now gives the opportunity for Rhyan to put his case forward and we await the outcome.”
– With AAP