North Melbourne AFL coach Brad Scott says Jack Ziebell's suspension is an indictment on the game and could force coaches to tell players that going hard at the ball should no longer be their main focus.
The star midfielder was controversially slapped with a four-game penalty at Tuesday's tribunal hearing after being charged with rough conduct for a head-high clash with Carlton's Aaron Joseph.
"He's devastated. It was a bitterly disappointing day and a really sad day in my mind for AFL football," Scott told reporters on Thursday as the ninth-placed Kangaroos prepared for Sunday's MCG clash with 11th-placed Richmond.
"It strikes at the heart of what this game's about.
"I've never ever seen a player get suspended for making the ball his sole objective, attacking the ball with ferocity, but being punished for the incidental contact that occurred because of that attitude in going for the ball.
"It has been a core fundamental of our game since the game has been invented, that you can attack the ball with ferocity provided you keep your eyes on the ball at all times and you make the ball your sole intention."
Asked if a rule change was necessary, Scott said: "That depends on the groundswell of public opinion as to the way they want the game played."
Scott said the tribunal had ruled Ziebell was contesting the ball.
Ziebell did have a reasonable alternative, which was to wait for Joseph to grab the ball and then tackle him, Scott added.
"To suggest that there's a reasonable alternative is to suggest that those sort of players shouldn't be ... so ferocious in their attack on the ball," Scott said.
"Perhaps we need to re-write the coaching manual. Go back and tell players 'no, it's not about keeping your eyes on the ball and attacking it with ferocity - it's about making sure you don't hurt your opponent'."
Scott said he had heard the argument that if the Ziebell incident was a marking contest, he would have not been suspended.
"It is farcical," Scott said.
Scott said the Kangaroos had counselled Ziebell after his suspension in 2011 for a high bump on St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt.
"We said 'Jack you cannot do that, you cannot line up an opposition player, run past the ball and make him your sole focus'," Scott said.
"He is now saying to me 'I did what you said, I made the ball my sole focus, I attacked it and now I'm not allowed to play for four weeks'.
"That's an indictment, in my view."
The AFL has sent please-explain letters to North's Drew Petrie and Geelong's James Kelly for criticising Ziebell's ban on Twitter.
AAP
Tags: sport, australian-football-league, north-melbourne-3051, vic, australia First posted July 19, 2012 15:19:26