Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy is shocked that Geelong are opting to challenge Gary Rohan’s one-match ban for a dangerous tackle at the Tribunal on Thursday night.
Rohan was suspended for one match after his sling tackle on Changkuoth Jiath was graded as careless, high contact and medium impact in Geelong’s win over Hawthorn on Easter Monday.
Looking closely at the incident, Healy believes Rohan’s could have easily been a two-week ban, the same punishment Will Day received for a dangerous tackle on Brad Close from the same game.
Referencing Nathan Broad’s four-week ban from Round 2 for his tackle on Adelaide’s Patrick Parnell, Healy believes the Cats should have taken the ban and run as he may have gotten off lightly from the MRO.
“Tomorrow night two sling/slam tackles go up to the Tribunal trying to get their penalties reduced if not eradicated,” Healy told SEN Sportsday.
“It should be a waste of time, but who knows with chook lotto.
“It's a dangerous case in my view for Gary Rohan.
“If I was the Tribunal, I might even begin to wonder exactly like Dermott Brereton said, ‘What is the difference between his that got one week and Will Day’s that got two, as far as the capacity to cause serious damage to the head is concerned?’. Not much I would have thought.
“Given that Nathan Broad got four weeks for his horror tackle on Patrick Parnell a couple of weeks ago, I'm surprised Geelong haven't simply taken a one week and run.
“But in my experience, nothing distorts a normally sensible brain than the opportunity to perform at the AFL tribunal.”
While bans can’t be upgraded at the Tribunal, Healy believes the slam tackle is no joke and commended Broad for accepting his punishment for his dangerous act.
Healy pondered what the Tribunal’s call will be with potential confusion arising about the differences between Day and Rohan’s cases.
“The slam tackle is no joke,” Healy said.
“If anything, I could upgrade Rohan's to two weeks and send a message to Michael Christian at the same time to stop confusing the process.
“I take my hat off to Nathan Broad who put his hand up and copped it on the chin.
“Yes, the damage of his tackle was there for all to see, as against tomorrow night's tackles whose damage wasn't immediate but the potential of both was obvious.
“You never know what's going to happen at the Tribunal.
“So, we will wait with bated breath to see whether or not we get a uniform outcome or it's something that confuses us even further.”
Both cases will be heard on Thursday night ahead with Gather Round set to kick off on the same day.