Prof Robin Daly

Reasons: We find that this was rough conduct and that Curtis was careless for the following main reasons. First, Curtis wrapped both arms around Sinn and propelled him forward. Curtis did not need to propel Sinn forward with such force. He could have attempted to retain control of control of the tackle. Secondly, Curtis pinned both of Sinn’s arms and made no attempt to release either arm. Thirdly, Curtis made no or insufficient attempt to roll Sinn sideways so as to avoid or minimise the risk of Sinn’s head hitting the ground with force. North points to the fact that at the conclusion of the tackle, Curtis is moving to the side of Sinn and ends up beside him. In our view, this occurs too late. Curtis could have but did not make a significant attempt to roll to the side. He had time to sum up the situation before tackling Sinn from behind forcefully. Fourthly, Curtis made no or insufficient attempt to pull Sinn back so as to minimise the risk or extent of Sinn’s head hitting the ground. A prudent player would have realised that in executing a tackle in this way carried with it a real likelihood of Sinn’s head making forceful contact with the ground with the potential for a concussion. Curtis dropped his weight at the commencement of the tackle and to some extent, Sinn’s knees plugging into the ground caused the players to propel forward. That is not an unlikely or unforeseeable consequence of a tackle such as this in these circumstances. Players are today well aware that tackling a player from behind, where both the tackler and the ball carrier have some momentum, carries a risk of causing a concussion if care is not taken to avoid or minimise that risk. Curtis did not do nearly enough to address that risk. As a result, he engaged in careless, rough conduct. As for impact, the video shows that the force with which Sinn’s head hit the ground was significant indeed. He was clearly hurt and visibly distressed. He took a considerable time to get to his feet and left the field looking somewhat unsteady. He has been diagnosed with concussion, will not train for seven to 10 days and will miss one match. We have no hesitation in classifying the impact as severe. The charge as classified is upheld.