St Kilda forward Jack Higgins has been hit with a three-match suspension for the dangerous tackle that concussed Aliir Aliir in the Saints’ loss to Port Adelaide.
Higgins tackled the bigger Aliir to ground during the second quarter at the Adelaide Oval, with the defender’s head hitting the ground as he attempted to kick.
Aliir was taken off and quickly substituted out of the game with concussion, and will miss the Power’s Showdown blockbuster against Adelaide under the AFL’s concussion protocols.
Match Review Officer Michael Christian graded the incident as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, triggering the three-match ban – the highest sanction the MRO can give without first sending the case to the Tribunal.
Higgins stands to miss matches against North Melbourne, Hawthorn and Fremantle unless the Saints appeal.
The sanction comes despite former great Jordan Lewis telling Fox Footy he ‘feel[s] for Higgins’.
If Aliir Aliir understands if he’s being tackled and doesn’t then try and kick the ball, well then there’s probably no case to answer for,” Lewis said.
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“I think Aliir contributes 50 per cent of that force going to the ground by trying to dispose of the ball.”