“Not everyone needs to be suspended”: GWS coach defends striker after MRO ruling on three-game suspension decided – AFL News

GWS coach Adam Kingsley has raised concerns about the AFL Match Review Officer’s decision to ban Giants forward Toby Bedford for three weeks for a dangerous tackle.

The MRO laid charges of rough conduct for his tackle on Richmond’s Tim Taranto shortly before Sunday’s win over the Tigers. The former Giant suffered a concussion as a result of the incident.

Bedford is seen tackling Taranto from behind before both players go down, with the latter’s head slamming into the turf before medical assessment places him under the AFL’s mandatory concussion protocols.

The aftermath of Taranto’s injury resulted in severe punishment for Bedford, who was suspended for three games after his actions were classified as careless conduct, heavy impact and strong physical contact.

The Giants immediately confirmed they would contest the charges at the AFL Tribunal, with Kingsley saying RSN on Tuesday that in his opinion Bedford should not have been locked down at all, let alone for three weeks.

The GWS coach questioned the lack of “eye test” that underpinned the MRO’s decision, stating that “accidents happen” and that not letting Bedford face Taranto was not an option.

“We ask our players to tackle, but if they hold both arms they are guilty and if they hold one arm it is a ‘chicken wing’ tackle. And if they don’t tackle, their opponent will run out of a stoppage and potentially score a goal, which impacts everyone’s jobs,” Kingsley said.

“It’s a very, very difficult thing. When Toby scored, we didn’t feel like he drove Tim to the ground, he certainly didn’t throw him. We definitely view it as a football move.

“Accidents happen, as we know. The concussion thing is really important and if you legislate against it, then you enable all these incidents to happen. On the face of it, (Bedford’s tackle) is certainly not a three-week ban, in my opinion it should not be a ban.

“There has to be some kind of eye test. There was no malice at all involved in this tackle, it was just an accident. Accidents happen, we move on.”

“I don’t think we need to suspend everyone who happens to give someone a concussion or bloody someone’s face. I’m not sure we need to suspend everyone just to prevent future litigation.

“We have to accept that accidents happen and that they do occur occasionally, even if we don’t like to see people get hurt.”

Kingsley further criticised the AFL’s tendency to punish the outcome rather than the action in certain incidents, drawing attention to an opening-round tackle in which Giants veteran Callan Ward dislocated his shoulder after both arms were held by Collingwood’s Beau McCreery.

Ward missed a month of play due to his injury, but McCreery was not charged by the MRO.

“I think I understand what (the AFL) is trying to do. As long as they’re trying to eliminate concussions from the game and not tackles,” Kingsley said.

“Earlier this year, Callan Ward was thrown to the ground in a tackle but he had a firm grip on both arms and landed on his shoulder, dislocating it. He missed four or five weeks.

“Just because his head didn’t hit the ground, it wasn’t considered a dangerous tackle. I mean, do we punish the action or do we punish the result?

“We at the football club believe that we have to punish the actions. A dangerous tackle is a sling tackle or if you push someone to the ground excessively, then there will definitely be a suspension. That would be fair and reasonable.”

“But if you don’t do any of those things and someone accidentally gets a concussion, I think it’s too harsh to punish them with a suspension.”

A confirmed three-match suspension for Bedford would see the GWS tagger miss the games against Gold Coast, Melbourne and Hawthorn, with his return scheduled for Round 22 against Brisbane.

A successful appeal means Bedford will be able to play against the Suns at GIANTS Stadium this weekend.