Darren Milburn Cops 1 Week – Spear Tackle Comes Under Notice

Geelong’s Darren Milburn has just had his suspension reduced to one week for his tackle on Shane Edwards, however the real story may prove to be a review of tribunal rules regarding dangerous, or ‘spear’, tackles.

Milburn’s team successfully had his charge downgraded from high contact to body contact, as that was where the tackle was applied. Milburn will now only miss one match – this week against the bottom of the table Demons.

Comments from tribunal chairman David Jones may well see some rule changes made sooner rather than later, stating…

This case in my mind illustrates the need for the AFL to consider, when they do their review of the rules at the end of the year, introducing a specific offence for contact of this nature.

This has been done with respect to front-on contact and with respect to head-high contact and in my view that was very appropriate.

There is a need for a specific offence that takes into account a dangerous tackle, or a throw tackle, or as it is called in rugby league, a spear tackle, but that is a matter for the AFL.

If you’re a bit in the dark about the whole incident – you can watch footage of the Milburn tackle here.

While no one wants to see players knocked out having their head driven into the turf, such a rule change might prove to have a much bigger change on the game than first thought. A number of players have commented that these tackles that have recently come under fire – Milburn, Surjan, Matt Thomas earlier in the year – are simply how the players are taught to tackle from a young age.

The question has been asked by some – will a change affect the entire tackling technique?

Or is that simply an overreaction? Really – should the duty of care be on the tackler to ensure the player’s head isn’t driven into the ground? Players have a duty of care enforced by the ‘in the back’ rule – wouldn’t this rule merely be an extension of this?

It’s an interesting one. Either way – I think we will see such a rule come in sooner or later.

Let us know your thoughts – does the AFL need to continue protecting the head, or should we just send them all out in skirts? Leave us a comment!