A ‘very remorseful’ Conor Nash has received a four-match suspension for the ugly high hit that concussed Geelong’s Gryan Miers on Easter Monday.
The Hawthorn midfielder was sent straight to the Tribunal after a swinging arm from a poorly executed tackle struck Miers in the face during the third quarter of the Hawks’ seven-point loss to the Cats, with Miers subbed out of the game and entering concussion protocols.
The hit has since reignited calls for the league to implement a send-off rule for particularly serious cases in which a player is concussed, with the legendary Leigh Matthews at the forefront.
As a result of the ban, Nash will miss the Hawks’ matches against West Coast, Richmond, Melbourne and Gold Coast.
At the Tribunal hearing, the Hawks acknowledged the severity of the incident but argued for a three-match sanction, while the AFL pressed for four.
In giving evidence, Nash said he as attempting to ‘tap the ball’ with his arm, but that he had ‘got it wrong’.
“I just want to express with deep regret what happened to Gryan. I’m very remorseful for the incident,” Nash said.
“I was simply trying to make a play on the ball and I just got it badly wrong.”
As part of his evidence, a text sent by the 26-year old to Miers on Tuesday was revealed, in which Nash expressed his remorse for the incident and said there ‘really wasn’t any malice’ in what occurred.
“Hi Gryan, Conor Nash here,” the message said.
“Firstly, I just want to check in on how you’ve pulled up today. Hopefully not too bad and can get back on track soon. I’m also reaching out to let you know there really wasn’t any malice to that hit. I tried to play the ball and I just got it badly wrong.
“Yes, I do try playing the game with a physical presence, but not in that spirit. Just want you to know that again.
“Very sorry for what’s happened and all the circus around it. Hopefully it’s just a week for you and you’re right to go. All the best for the rest of the season. Go well. Cheers, Conor.”
The Hawks argued Nash’s hit was ‘not a dirty act’, but an ‘obvious football act’, comparing the incident to Fremantle forward Patrick Voss’s high hit on Richmond’s Nick Vlastuin during Gather Round, for which he only received a three-match sanction – though Vlastuin, unlike Miers, wasn’t concussed as a result.
Hawks counsel Myles Tehan also cited Nash’s unblemished disciplinary record since joining the Hawks for the 2017 season, as well as during stints playing rugby and Gaelic football in his native Ireland.
“Nash’s impeccable record does call to mind the famously impeccable record of another Irishman, Mr. Jim Stynes,” Tehan added.
The AFL’s call for a four-match ban was based on an argument that Nash’s hit was with a ‘high level of carelessness’.
League counsel Andrew Woods said Nash had ‘no prospect of gaining possession or really spoiling the ball in any way’, claiming the hit was worse than Voss’ on Vlastuin, which the Hawks disputed.
In explaining the hefty sanction, the Tribunal said it was ‘all but inevitable’ Nash’s swinging arm would make contact with Miers’ head.
“We find the degree of carelessness here was significant,” Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson said in a statement.
“Nash gave evidence that he was attempting to knock the ball forward, but the angle with which he swung his arm, the elevation at which he swung his arm, and the force with which he swung his arm meant that it was all but inevitable that he was going to make forceful contact with Miers’ head.
“In any event, force of impact was considerable.
“We have some difficulty in understanding how Nash got it so wrong here.
“We accept that he was not intending to strike Miers to the head. He should have known that his forceful swing of an arm at head height may well result in just such a strike.”
