Paul Curtis' three-game suspension for a dangerous tackle has been upheld at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday evening.
The match review officer handed him a three-match ban after his tackle which concussed West Coast's Hamish Davis in the Kangaroos' tight win on Saturday night.
It was graded as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, with Davis unable to use his arms to prevent his head from hitting the turf - which the tribunal concurred with.
North Melbourne attempted to argue this point, noting his forearms were free.
"The tribunal is comfortably satisfied that Paul Curtis' tackle on Hamish Davis was a dangerous tackle
"Curtis came in from the side, wrapped his arm around Davis' arms and dropped and rotated Davis into the ground. Curtis made no apparent attempt to keep his feet, to release either of Davis' arms or rotate Davis onto himself," the tribunal chair said.
"It was submitted on behalf of Curtis that it was the momentum of the tackle that caused the players to go to ground. We disagree.
"The vision shows Davis had both feet on the ground when he handballed and it was the technique of Curtis that resulted in them being brought to ground...a reasonable player in the circumstances would have kept their feet in the tackle or at least attempted to do so or would have released either or both of Davis' arms, particularly once the handball had been effected or would have rotated or attempted to rotate Davis onto himself to some extent. Curtis did none of this.
"He simply pinned Davis and dropped him to the ground. It was submitted on behalf of Curtis that Davis had his hands and forearms free and this was known to Curtis and this renders the tackle other than dangerous.
"Curtis gave no evidence so we do not know what he actually knew. The question therefore becomes what a reasonable player would have known.
"As the outcome demonstrates, because he has both arms pinned and because he was dropped into the ground at speed and with some force, a reasonable player in Curtis' position would not have believed that Davis had any meaningful opportunities to brace for impact."
North Melbourne gave evidence of tackles it viewed as similar to the Curtis tackle, however the tribunal did not find the tackles to be of "sufficient similarity" given the severe impact grading for this tackle.
It is the second time in just over 12 months Curtis has been hit with a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle, following a similar incident on Port Adelaide's Josh Sinn last year.
At the time, the ban was challenged but charge was upheld.
Curtis has kicked 22 goals from 13 games so far this season and established himself as a key part of North Melbourne's front half.
He will miss games against Richmond, Port Adelaide and Melbourne.
"Davis' head hit the ground with considerable force. The vision also shows Davis was unable to take his feet for an extended period of time and when he did, he was unable to walk from the ground without assistance. The medical report confirms he has suffered a concussion.
"The tribunal guidelines provide that particular consideration should be given to any injury suffered by the player," the chair said.
"The injury suffered by Davis here was clear and was significant...the fact a concussion is suffered from a reportable offence does not mean the impact will inevitably be graded as severe, but when we take into account the nature and severity of the injury and the evident and significant force Davis' head impacted with the ground, we find that the impact here was severe."
Follow below as it happened.
Live Blog
6.47pm: The tribunal has upheld the three-game suspension.
6.38pm: The tribunal is still deliberating.
5.52pm: The tribunal is now deliberating.
5.40pm: The most significant factor North Melbourne is relying on is the distinctive feature that Hamish Davis' forearms were free. Taylor tackled him and pinned him above his biceps which allowed him to brace for impact. The AFL, however, argeus the hands cannot be used in any meaningful way to brace for impact. How the tribunal views this aspect of the tackle will have a significant bearing on the outcome.
5.38pm: North Melbourne is arguing the impact should be low, not severe, despite the outcome.
5.36pm: North Melbourne highlights the tribunal must weigh up the potential for injury and argues the tackle was executed in a prudent manner and the tribunal should not elevate the fact there was a concussion above all else and pay sufficient attention to other factors such as the amount of force, stipulated in tribunal guidelines.
5.32pm: North Melbourne disagree there was a double action as both forearms were free which provided the ability for Davis to place both hands on the ground.
5.24pm: North Melbourne is using several recent tackles as part of its evidence.
5.16pm: North Melbourne argues there are five observable features of the tackle which do not constitute dangerous tackle: There was only one action; he momentum through the tackle is the ball-carrier's, the tackle was from the side; arms were not pinned, rather arms were held at the biceps, allowing the forearms and hands of the tackled player to be free throughout; The tackled player goes to ground first with his knees, then both hands before his head makes contact with the ground, so the force goes through his knees and hands before his head; the tackler is to Hamish's side, not his back as they land on the ground.
North Melbourne also point out that there was no remonstration from West Coast players or reaction from the umpires.
5.14pm: The AFL notes that a three-game suspension is at the lower-end of possible sanctions, but will not push for a harsher sanction.
5.10pm: The AFL supports severe impact for three reasons: Davis' head made forceful contact with the ground while rotating with both arms pinned; the confirmed injury (concussion); a player rotating head-first into the ground faces the potential for more significant injury accompanying the concussion.
5.07pm: The AFL is arguing that by pinning both of Davis' arms, it prevents Davis from protecting himself and Curtis' body weight helps drive Curtis into the ground. The AFL argues Curtis effectively dropped and fell on Davis, contributing significantly to the momentum which caused the injury. He did not hold him up or release an arm.
5.05pm: The AFL will use Jai Newcombe's tackle in the Aami Community Series and Bailey Humphrey's tackle on Dan Rioli in Round 2 as part of its evidence.
5.03pm: Paul Curtis will not give evidence. North Melbourne will argue it is not a dangerous tackle.
