New AFL match review chief Michael Christian says players who genuinely contest the ball will have nothing to worry about when it comes to tackling and head clashes, however there will be no free rein.
Slinging and driving tackles were a point of contention in 2017, with several players suffering bouts of concussion, and the former premiership player said while they do not want players to be afraid of tackling, a duty of care will still apply.
“I’ll create my own benchmarks,” Christian said on SEN Mornings.
“What the game doesn’t need is players pinning arms and aggressively driving players into the ground.
“Tackling is absolutely a critical part of the game so we don’t want to get to the stage where players are afraid to tackle but they have a duty of care.”
Christian admitted that tackles which result in injury are difficult to adjudicate, and whether particular incidents are sanctioned will come down to whether there was a realistic alternative to perform another action.
“Tackles are really challenging,” he said.
“I think the key aspects are when players are tackled in a vulnerable position - when you’ve got your arms pinned - and is rotated into the ground with excessive force. When players sustain concussions out of tackles then there’s an assumption of excessive force.
“It certainly did at the time (polarise the football community).
“When you are going for the ball and you don’t have another alternative to contest then it doesn’t matter the damage to the other player. When you are genuinely contesting the ball it’s OK.”