Why Zorko believes the MRO has overreached

Former Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko believes Jackson Archer was incredibly unlucky to cop a three-game suspension for his collision with Luke Cleary.

The MRO hit Archer with the ban for the incident that left the young Bulldog with a concussion during North Melbourne’s Round 1 loss.

The Roos have already announced they will appeal the suspension at the AFL Tribunal.

Zorko admits his first instinct was that the incident should have resulted in a free kick for Archer, given the forceful contact below the knees.

“I saw it a few times on loop the other night. My first instinct, and I think most of us as AFL players watching and playing in the sport at the moment, would’ve thought that it was Jackson’s free kick,” Zorko told SENQ Breakfast.

“We got told that any forceful contact below the knees was going to be a free kick.

“Initially, my first instinct was ‘I hope Jackson’s leg is alright’, it looked like it was in a very vulnerable position.”

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Zorko believes MRO Michael Christian is asking too much of players, if he wants them to stop or avoid a collision in that kind of situation.

“Obviously with the technology these days, we can slow it down and see just how fast he comes in, but I don’t think, from a player’s point of view, and I can’t speak on behalf of Jackson, but there’s no intent to hurt Luke,” the premiership Lion said.

“He doesn’t know that Luke is about to trip over and then go to ground. In a split second when he’s travelling somewhat close to 30km/h, for him to just pull out or stop, like it’s almost impossible to do.

“You can sort of see him late bracing with his upper body somewhat and he knew he was in a bad position.

“I think for me at the end of the day, accidents are going to happen in our game and I really feel for Luke and I hope he’s okay, but for me that was an accident and I don’t think Jackson could have done a lot more there.

“He can’t just stop and he can’t disappear. He potentially came in too hot, but when the ball is on the line and the game is on the line, I think as a teammate and as a coach you’d really want him to attack that contest, not knowing that he was going to fall over.

“There’s no intent there to hurt Luke, it’s just unfortunate.”

When asked if Archer should have approached the contest slower or with more care, Zorko said things unfold too quickly for that level of complex decision making.

“Absolutely you could, but it’s a split second. We’re making decisions in tenths of a second here. It’s not like ‘oh mate, you could’ve turned side on here’, it’s really hard to do in the heat of the moment,” he said.

“Luke fell over the ball. He’s in no control of his movement either. The way I stand on it, it’s very much an accident. I’m glad the players are alright.

“I personally just believe it’s an accident and there’s no intent to hurt whatsoever.”

The AFL Tribunal will sit on Tuesday night to determine Archer’s fate, while Cleary has been ruled out of Round 2 with a concussion.