St Kilda is challenging Jack Higgins’ three-match ban for a dangerous tackle at the AFL Tribunal. Live updates below!
Higgins was cited for his tackle on star defender Aliir Aliir last Friday night, with the action deemed as careless conduct, high contact and severe impact.
The incident forced Aliir to leave the ground soon after, with the 29-year-old later failing his SCAT5 concussion test and being subbed out of the game.
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The head knock means Aliir will miss this Thursday’s Showdown against cross-town rivals the Adelaide Crows.
The Saints argued Higgins was not guilty because it was not rough conduct and his actions were not unreasonable in the circumstance. Should that fail their secondary argument was “exceptional and compelling” circumstances apply given Aliir contributed significantly with his actions.
The medical report said Aliir would miss at least 12 days due to the concussion protocols.
The Saints planned to call biomechanist Dr Helen Bayne to speak in regards to Aliir’s actions, given he was kicking the ball, but the AFL argued there was not sufficient notice in terms of a lack of information given, and objected.
“If it’s simply a description of what’s in the video … it’s not really an area of expertise and the expert cannot assist the Tribunal,” Nick Pane KC said for the FL.
Tribunal chair Renee Enbom allowed the evidence to be heard pending submissions on its relevance.
Higgins told the Tribunal Aliir had “burst through a tackle” by a teammate and tried to bring Aliir down by the upper body region.
He said his left arm was pushed down by Aliir and tried to grab what he could, and that his balance was put off due to Aliir’s body weight and momentum.
“I thought he would land on his front,” Higgins said.
“He had it (his right arm) free.
“His movement had a lot of effect on the tackle. I can’t tackle a 95kg man to the ground and all his body weight was coming towards me. Him having his leg up in the air trying to kick the ball (impacted).”
He claimed a Port Adelaide player said “it was a good tackle and I was stiff”.
Pane for the AFL questioned whether Higgins genuinely thought of every possible scenario in the short period of the tackle, or if he only considered them afterwards. Higgins said the former.
Higgins conceded he was pulling Aliir to the ground and had his arm around the back of Aliir, with the AFL arguing the tackling action pulled Aliir across his body and rotated him towards the ground using all his weight, which Higgins denied.
Adrian Anderson for the Saints talked up the resume of Ms Bayne, the biomechanist who works at the WA Institute of Sport, and said her expertise related to evaluating Aliir’s movement.
“What’s clear from the footage I’ve seen in the action of swinging a right leg by the player as he’s being tackled increases his angular momentum,” Bayne said.
She argued the kick made a significant impact on the collision wth the ground, and that the momentum generated by the kick made it harder for Aliir to use his right arm to protect himself.
Bayne said Aliir would have had the “option” to use his right arm to protect himself in his landing if he had not been attempting the kick.
Pane (AFL) asked whether Aliir’s movement to the left was instigated by the tackle, to which Bayne agreed. She also agreed Higgins “contributed to the rotation” of the tackle.
“The onus is on Higgins to execute a safe tackle,” Pane said.
“By pinning Aliir’s arm and rotating him, he placed him in a vulnerable position. It’s foreseeable a player may try to dispose of the ball by kicking and that may alter his balance.”
The Saints’ argument entailed:
– Aliir is much bigger than Higgins;
– Aliir pushed Higgins’ left arm down while fighting the tackle, which impacted the execution of the tackle;
Follow our live blog of the Tribunal below!
