North Melbourne’s Paul Curtis will serve a three-match suspension after the AFL Tribunal upheld his rough conduct charge on Tuesday night.
Curtis had appealed the ban for his tackle on Port Adelaide’s Josh Sinn, which left the young Power player concussed.
In the second quarter, Curtis pinned both of Sinn’s arms and drove him forward, resulting in Sinn landing face-first on the turf. The tackle was deemed careless and high-impact.
Tribunal slams Curtis’ failure to show care
Despite North Melbourne arguing the motion was a controlled one, the Tribunal maintained Curtis had multiple chances to reduce the risk.
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“Curtis did not need to propel Sinn forward with such force. A prudent player would have realised that in executing a tackle in this way carried with it a real likelihood of Sinn’s head making forceful contact with the ground,” the Tribunal said in its findings.
It added that Curtis “made no or insufficient attempt” to release an arm, roll to the side, or pull back to minimise the impact.
Sinn was diagnosed with a concussion and will not train for at least a week, prompting the Tribunal to uphold the "severe" impact grading.
The Kangaroos had compared the incident to Patrick Dangerfield’s cleared tackle on Sam Walsh, but the Tribunal found no evidence Curtis tried to protect Sinn in a similar way.
Kangaroos representative Justin Graham KC argued: “To pin arms and prevent disposal is permitted and it’s good practice ... there was no sling, there was no driving motion. There’s a single motion.”
AFL counsel Sally Flynn responded: “We’re not suggesting Curtis should not have tackled. But when you execute a tackle, it needs to be reasonable and there needs to be due care exercised.”
Meanwhile, Curtis is now set to miss upcoming games against Essendon, Brisbane and Richmond.