Crows’ Keays to face nervous wait over dangerous tackle
Oliver Caffrey |
Adelaide forward Ben Keays is facing a nervous wait following a tackle that led to Essendon midfielder Jye Caldwell assessed for a head knock.
Following a “confusing week” at the tribunal, Keays’ tackle during the Crows’ thrilling two-point win on Friday night will be heavily scrutinised.
Essendon coach Brad Scott said Caldwell passed a concussion test and could have played out the match, but the Bombers preferred to sub in Archie Perkins instead of waiting for the outcome.
It comes after the AFL appeals board overturned three-match dangerous tackle bans for GWS’ tagger Toby Bedford and Brisbane Lions star Charlie Cameron due to an “error of law”.
The AFL maintain both incidents were examples of dangerous tackles.
“It was a tough week,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks said when referring to the confusion around dangerous tackles.
“We obviously look at these things and we educate around it.
“We have a complete understanding of what it is we’re trying to do as a league (around concussion) and we support that as far as protecting and looking after player welfare.
“But it was a confusing week.
“We educate one way and then we have to come back and do a complete flip on that and talk now about how we’re going to go about it.
“Our focus coming into this was we wanted a contest, we wanted to challenge the Bombers … our intent was to tackle.”
Essendon forward Matt Guelfi will also face a anxious wait to learn if he is cited by the match review officer over a tackle on Sam Berry, with the Crows midfielder’s head appearing to hit the ground.
Guelfi was awarded a free kick for holding the ball, but the league-wide confusion over what constitutes a dangerous tackle means this will be a talking point.
Essendon young gun Nate Caddy could also be in trouble after colliding front-on with Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson in the third quarter.
The Crows confirmed Dawson had entered concussion protocols and will miss next Sunday’s clash with Hawthorn.
When asked if Caddy could be in trouble for the incident, Scott exhaustingly replied: “Who knows? Who could tell you at the moment?”
AAP