According to the AFL’s 2021 tribunal guidelines,“the purpose of the rule dealing with high bumps is to reduce,as far as practicable,the risk of head injuries to players and this purpose needs to be kept firmly in mind by all players. For the purpose of these guidelines,head clashes that result when a player has elected to bump are circumstances that can reasonably be foreseen”.
Speaking on Monday,Dangerfield said he didn’t think,at the time,there was another option.
“I think it’s easy to review something at 30 frames per second. I think as much as you have a[duty of care] to look after the health and safety of others around you,you’ve got to look after yourself as well. But who knows,we’ll find out when we do,” Dangerfield said.
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“It’s a split moment to make a decision on protecting yourself with incoming opponents,and that happens every week. But we’ll wait and see how it all pans out.”
Dangerfield said he appreciated the AFL landscape,where concussion is an increasingly big issue,played a part in the manner in which the incident was handled.
“It’s still a collision game. I certainly appreciate and understand that looking after concussion and the head is extremely important but you also have a[duty of care] to yourself to protect yourself when you are in an environment,in a game where you can collide with others,” he said.