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Western Bulldogs midfielder Britney Gutknecht is free to play this weekend after having her case thrown out at the AFLW tribunal.
Gutknecht faced a ban of at least three weeks after she was sent directly to the tribunal following a crunching tackle that left Sydney Swans midfielder Paige Sheppard concussed.
The incident was initially assessed as an act of careless conduct with severe impact and high contact, but the rough conduct charge was dismised by the tribunal on Tuesday evening.
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The incident occurred during the third quarter of the Swans’ 57-point win at Whitten Oval on Saturday. Sheppard received the ball at halfback before Gutknecht wrapped her up.
As Sheppard had possession of the ball and failed to notice Gutknecht’s approach from behind, she was penalised for holding the ball but stayed down after the heavy impact.
She was helped from the field by the Swans medical staff before the club later confirmed she had suffered a concussion.
In the action, Gutknecht appeared to pin Sheppard’s arms with her forward momentum and the force of the collision bringing Sheppard down heavily. However, Sheppard was not slung nor did she have her head driven into the turf.
At the time, two-time AFLW All-Australian defender and Fox Footy commentator Ruby Schleicher labelled the hit a “monster tackle”.
“That is going to hurt in the morning,” she said.
“You could see [Gutknecht] coming. Sheppard is just unaware of Gutknecht sneaking up on her.
“That is just a huge tackle.”
Despite Sheppard being forced from the game with a concussion, Schleicher believed the tackle was “fair”.
“I don’t see any dirtiness in that,” she said.
“It was pretty heavy on her head, wasn’t it? I look at that – I still see a fair tackle. There’s no doubt the match review [officer] will look at it because they have to I guess. The duty of care for the player.
“She’s almost landed on her shoulders.”
Fellow Fox Footy commentator Meghan McDonald agreed: “It’s just a matter of being taken totally unaware.
“She didn’t see her coming and wasn’t braced for it.
“Technique wise, I don’t know what more [Gutknecht could have done] … she went low and it was in the momentum and the follow through and she’s hit her head on the ground.
“It’s certainly a single motion … it’s the pace at which she was running.”
