"He [Franklin] has got a bit of a track record with the way he goes about it, and that's certainly something we've addressed with him in the past," Sewell said this morning.
“It's something he's aware of. Just being the size he is he does get himself in trouble at times. He just needs to ensure if he does tackle he does go in low."
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On Sunday, Mitchell told Triple M he was hoping there wasn't enough force in the contact to warrant a report. "If there is, then it's high and all that sort of stuff. So hopefully, worst-case scenario, it's just a week."
Franklin is the most high-profile defendant of what looms as a busy couple of days for the AFL's match review panel and tribunal, with two contentious tackles - by Geelong's Joel Corey, and St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke - likely to be scrutinised.
Last month, Melbourne's Jack Trengove received a three-week ban for a similar tackle that dazed Crow Patrick Dangerfield. Koschitzke's victim, Mitch Duncan, was groggy after being hurled to the turf. St Kilda's Jack Steven seemed relatively unaffected by his dumping from Corey. Medical reports are often crucial to modern tribunal decisions, with the impact of the act in question taken into consideration.
Despite the emotional debate that followed Trengove's sanction, including calls for the rules to be overhauled, Sewell said the Hawks haven't had a "great deal of focus" on 'sling' tackles.
“I think it's been well publicised early in the year what can happen if you're a little bit careless if you like in the way you dump a guy. It's not worth the risk of doing that to miss weeks.”
However, St Kilda midfielder Leigh Montagna told Channel Seven's GameDay program yesterday that players had trouble with the rules governing tackling.
"No doubt it's the most confusing rule for players, to know what is acceptable and what isn't," Montagna said.
"I think both those tackles (by Koschitzke and Corey) were strong, forceful tackles.
"There was no second motion, there was no sling - I think they're fine.
"But it is something the match review panel will look at."
"It's a totally different side and that's the way it is and there's no point looking back and wondering what ifs and where we'd be if we hadn't lost those guys. The young boys coming in wouldn't have had the opportunity to do the things they've done."
The AFL first looked at increasing the sanctions for 'dangerous tackles' when conducting its annual tribunal review in 2008. It followed a tackle by Geelong's Darren Milburn on Richmond's Shane Edwards that left the Tiger groggy. Milburn was initially given a three-week ban for rough conduct, but the penalty was reduced to one week after it was argued that Milburn had not made direct conduct to his opponent's head.
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