Nic Natanui handed AFL ban for rough tackle, but the West Coast Eagles will challenge
Updated
Nic Naitanui is headed to the tribunal after match review officer (MRO) Michael Christian handed the West Coast Eagles ruckman a one-match suspension for a tackle on Port Adelaide's Karl Amon.
The tackle came late in the third quarter of West Coast's win over Port, with Naitanui hunting down Amon before an aggressive tackle rode him into the turf. The umpire awarded Amon a free kick for a push in the back and, despite looking a little rattled, he took his kick and played the rest of the game.
But Port's medical report suggested Amon suffered a delayed concussion, leading Christian to rule the tackle as careless, medium impact and high contact, resulting in a suspension.
Eagles coach Adam Simpson said he was perplexed by the decision, and on Tuesday morning the club confirmed it would plead Naitanui's case at the tribunal.
"It's a bit of a headscratcher for me, personally," Simpson told Channel Seven.
"The vision I saw, he didn't have his arms pinned."
And Simpson was not alone in decrying the MRO's decision, with North Melbourne coach Brad Scott among those who felt that Naitanui did not do much wrong.
"It's a push in the back, I think that's the penalty," Scott told Channel Seven's Talking Footy.
"If Nic had managed to roll Karl, then everything would have been fine.
"West Coast will probably challenge that."
Naitanui also had support from some past and present players on Twitter — though some of them promptly deleted their tweets to avoid an AFL fine.
ABC/AAP
Topics: australian-football-league, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia
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