A THREE-WEEK suspension for Ararat’s Brady Miller has prompted a stern warning from football officials about the dangers of making head-high contact with opposition players.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Wimmera Football League tribunal handed Miller the suspension for an incident during the Rats’ round-five win against Dimboola.
He was cited for making forceful, front-on contact to Dimboola’s Torin Petrie, which left the Roo in hospital.
Petrie received a serious concussion, which ruled him out of the weekend’s Wimmera interleague clash with Bellarine.
The Big W won by 17 points.
AFL Western Victoria general manager Stephen McQueen
said it was important players understood the dangers of high contact.
‘‘The tribunal and AFL Victoria are taking these head-high bumps very seriously, especially after several incidents in 2014 left players with life-long crippling injuries,’’ he said.
The comments come just weeks after Otway Districts
Football Netball Club’s Aaron Mahoney died on the field following an innocuous tackle.
Mr McQueen said luck played a significant part in whether players were able to walk away from such collisions.
‘‘They might not seem dangerous, but they are potentially life-threatening,’’ he said.
Petrie has recovered since the incident but is unlikely to line-up in the Roos’ match against Horsham Saints on Saturday.
Miller will miss matches against Horsham, Minyip-Murtoa and Warrack Eagles.
Wimmera league commissioner Greg Schultz said both players and umpires should be aware of the rules and the dangers involved with making high contact.
Mr Schultz believes the suspensions meant players would think twice before entering certain contest situations.
‘‘As we get rule changes, they go out to the clubs and everyone’s aware of what can happen and they are well aware of the consequences,’’ he said.
Mr Schultz said the harshness of sanctions was determined by the injury’s severity.
‘‘If it’s deemed serious enough, they take it to the tribunal,’’ he said.
‘‘Petrie was concussed and taken to hospital so therefore they took it very seriously.’’
Mr Schultz said the onus for head-high contact could be placed either on the player receiving the contact, or the player giving it.
He said interpretation was the reason a player might or might not be cited for head-high contact.
‘‘If the player puts his head down while he’s in the contest, they let it go. But if they’re already down and somebody comes in and collects them, then that’s serious,’’ he said.
