AFL clamps down on sliding

Updated May 10, 2012 13:06:29

The AFL has moved swiftly to eradicate the emergence of sliding by instructing umpires to pay free kicks when players make feet or knee-first contact with an opponent.

General manager of football operations Adrian Anderson today wrote to all 18 clubs to clarify the issue, also stating the chance of amendments to the tribunal's rough conduct guidelines after North Melbourne's Lindsay Thomas and Fremantle's Greg Broughton recently had bans overturned on appeal.

In the memo, Anderson said sliding had increased in prevalence through the early part of the season and the medical advice to the AFL was the potential for serious injury to players would continue to rise.

Anderson said players had a duty of care to their counterparts to not slide into a contest when there was the potential to injure an opponent.

He also said umpires would pay a free kick against players who slide in, where there is contact to a player below the knee and the risk of injury.

Anderson admitted that some free kicks should already have been paid this season against players for sliding, citing and Thomas and Broughton as examples, even if both those players were first to the ball.

Players also risk offending under the rough conduct rule if they arrive late into a contest and with force, regardless of whether it is feet/knees first or not.

"The AFL's primary concern around the Laws of the Game continues to be the safety of our players," Anderson said.

"It is not illegal to slide to contest the ball, but players must be aware of the potential for injury if they slide into an opponent's knees or ankles.

"Our medical advice is that sliding into contests has the real potential to result in season-ending, or even career-ending, injuries, and that is something that no-one in the game wants to see."

The AFL's preseason 2012 laws DVD had already highlighted sliding as a tactic that may earn a free-kick as well as referral from the match review panel.

Swans veteran Adam Goodes was suspended for one game earlier this year after sliding knees first into Port Adelaide's Jacob Surjan.

Adelaide' Taylor Walker accepted a reprimand for a similar incident against Surjan in round five while Thomas escaped suspension for his slide that broke the leg of Sydney's Gary Rohan a week earlier.

Broughton also beat a rough conduct sliding charge at the tribunal on Wednesday night after injurying the lower leg of young Gold Coast star David Swallow.

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First posted May 10, 2012 12:37:44

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Docker Broughton escapes sliding ban

Updated May 09, 2012 09:07:55

Fremantle defender Greg Broughton has been cleared by the AFL tribunal for alleged rough conduct against Gold Coast's David Swallow.

Broughton could have accepted a reprimand but chose to risk a one-match suspension by appealing the charge.

He had adopted the controversial ploy of sliding into a contest during the second quarter of last week's game at Carrara.

Broughton beat Suns midfielder Swallow to the ball and gained possession then turned his back as Swallow entered the contest.

Broughton's left knee collided with Swallow's left ankle, the AFL website reported.

Swallow limped off the field and later returned, and he faces a fitness test this week.

Broughton is now free to play against Port Adelaide at Subiaco on Sunday.

North Melbourne's Lindsay Thomas also beat a sliding charge two weeks ago despite Sydney's Gary Rohan breaking his leg in the incident.

Earlier, the VFL tribunal handed Geelong AFL premiership defender David Wojcinski a two-match ban for an incident which left 18-year-old Jack Viney with a broken jaw.

Wojcinski, 31, had already accepted a one-week ban for a separate charge of striking Casey's Viney.

However the sentence for a rough-conduct charge will be served concurrently with the striking ban, although this still means he will miss four weeks because of byes in the VFL fixture.

Wojcinski had elected to bump Viney in a last-quarter incident at Kardinia Park on Saturday, claiming a last-second change of direction by Viney meant Wojcinski had to brace himself for contact rather than lay a tackle.

The triple-premiership Cats defender had been chosen to play for Geelong's AFL side last weekend for his first senior game of the year and 200th career match, but had decided to give himself a fourth VFL game after an injury-interrupted pre-season.

Viney, who will be drafted by the Demons later this year, was playing his first VFL game for Melbourne's feeder team Casey.

A medical report from the Demons said Viney, son of ex-Melbourne captain Todd, would miss four weeks of football.

After a hearing that lasted over an hour plus a 25-minute deliberation by the three-man panel which included Brian Chaplin and ex-Hawk Nick Holland, VFL tribunal chairman Eddie Power found Wojcinski could have reasonably foreseen the results of his actions.

But Power added Wojcinski's clean record in his 14-year career up until last week's game had helped lower his sentence.

A shattered Wojcinski did not speak to waiting reporters after the hearing at Princes Park, but Geelong's AFL football manager Neil Balme said the Cats were not complaining about the outcome of the hearing.

"It was a very difficult position that the tribunal was in and they've handled it quite fairly," Balme said.

"David's quite upset with the whole thing. He's hoping Jack Viney is fine which I'm sure he will be.

"It is high stakes but we're happy with the way it was dealt with.

"He would certainly have played (AFL) this week if he was available. But he's had a terrific 14 years and it (his senior career) won't stop."

Wojcinski said in his evidence that he was planning to tackle but had to protect himself when Viney veered towards him.

"I thought he was going towards goal. There was nothing I could do," Wojcinski said.

"I didn't want to leave myself wide open to get cleaned up myself."

ABC/AAP

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First posted May 08, 2012 20:46:01

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Docker Broughton to fight sliding charge

Updated May 08, 2012 12:01:10

Fremantle's Greg Broughton is risking a one-match suspension when he heads to a tribunal hearing tonight appealing a rough conduct charge against David Swallow.

Broughton could have accepted a fine for sliding into a challenge with the Gold Coast midfielder.

Adam Goodes was suspended in preseason and again for a regular season match for this offence but the Dockers believe Broughton's slide was more similar to North Melbourne Lindsay Thomas' challenge with Sydney's Gary Rohan.

Although Rohan received a broken leg from the incident, a tribunal hearing upheld Thomas' appeal that the contact was accidental.

All other players charged over the weekend's actions accepted sanctions with West Coast forward Ashton Hams banned for two games and Adelaide ruckman Shaun McKernan sitting out for one.

Port's Travis Boak and Shaun Hampson of Carlton have both received fines of $1,800 from the Match Review Panel.

Hams, who struck Kangaroo Andrew Swallow (older brother of David), and McKernan - who hit Sydney's Alex Johnson - would not have been able to reduce their suspensions due to previous disciplinary issues.

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First posted May 08, 2012 11:57:46

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