Taylor Walker of the Adelaide Crows is the latest player to slide into a contest and injured an opponent. This is the second time this season that a player has slid into Port Adelaide player Jacob Surjan. Swan Adam Goodes only returned last weekend from being suspended for sliding into a tackle on Surjan in round three.
Walker’s slide on his knees resulted in Surjan being hit in the head during the match on Sunday afternoon. While a free kick was awarded, the incident was not reported. It remains to be seen whether the Match Review Panel will be so lenient on Walker this week and it could slide either way.
The Match Review Panel recently overturned a charge against Kangaroo Lindsay Thomas whose slide resulted in a broken leg for Sydney Swan Gary Rohan in round 4. Rohan is not expected to return for the rest of the season.
Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson has commented that the League has found a good balance between a hard, contested ball game and keeping the players safe. However he believes there is more that can be done to ensure the players are safe besides changing the rules each time a player does get hurt. He says that it is natural that freak accidents are bound to happen. Crow Patrick Dangerfield supported this by saying players do whatever it takes to get the ball and at the time they don’t stop to consider the consequences.