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Sport Nation
FWC on Sport Nation guideNorth’s Simpkin can expect ‘please explain’ after AFL criticism
Andrew Slevison • June 17th, 2026 11:30 am
North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin has criticised the AFL, describing the decision to uphold the suspension of teammate Paul Curtis as “laughable”.
The former Kangaroos captain put up three posts on Instagram stories last night questioning the three-week ban for Curtis’ tackle on Hamish Davis, which concussed the Eagle, in the weekend’s narrow win over West Coast in Perth.
Simpkin posted vision of Mabior Chol’s tackle on Tom Stewart in last year’s Preliminary Final which concussed the star Cat and forced him to miss the Grand Final with the accompanying words: “Ball carrier gets concussed, tackler gets off with no suspension.”
Then he posted Curtis’ tackle with the words: “Ball carrier gets concussed, tackler gets a three-week suspension.”
Before his most critical words came: “The AFL needs to get it together, the constant rule changes and the MRO is laughable.
“Players don't know what they can and can't do anymore. Just hope for the best each week.”
SEN Breakfast’s Tim Watson asked Garry Lyon if Simpkin will receive a ‘please explain’ from the AFL.
Watson asked: “Should he get a phone call from Greg Swann today and a please explain?”
Lyon replied: “I think so, otherwise it just opens the door (for more criticism).
“If I was Todd Viney (North’s GM of footy) I’d be calling him in and saying, ‘Well, what is it that you don’t understand about this? What part of the rule don’t you understand?’. That is more of a concern to me.
“Regarding the criticism, the AFL will probably send him a note and say, ‘We can’t have open slather criticism of the AFL in these areas from the players’.
“But I’d be asking, ‘What is it that you don’t understand when you tackle and take the player to ground?’.
“I think he (Curtis) is desperately unlucky, but Davis gets knocked out, and you hope that Jy Simpkin understands the reason why rather than say it’s a joke.”
GWS midfielder Tom Green was asked his thoughts on the expectations on players when tackling from behind.
The injured Giants star firmly believes that there are some unrealistic expectations placed on the playing fraternity in these situations.
“I feel like I know what we can and can’t do but I think what is expected is a little bit unreasonable,” Green told Lyon and Watson.
“The Paul Curtis example I feel like every single person looking at it straight away within the industry went, ‘Ahhh, there’s a real chance he’s going to get rubbed out here’.
“But I don’t think that he could have done anything else in that situation. I think the expectations of the player in that tackle are not realistic.
“There was no second action, there was no slinging motion. Some of this stuff where he pinned both arms… you’re meant to tackle. All of a sudden a tackle looks bad if you get one arm and people are flicking the handball out - that’s not tackling properly.
“I also don’t think you can expect him to grab two arms initially in the tackle and as he’s split-second falling to the ground be able to release that. The demands of the player and the tackler are a bit unreasonable in my personal opinion.”
A statement from North on Tuesday night read: "North Melbourne argued Curtis had laid a fair tackle in the circumstances.
"After deliberating, the Tribunal disagreed and upheld the three-match ban.
"The club has until Wednesday morning to decide whether to appeal the verdict."
Curtis will miss matches against Richmond, Essendon and Port Adelaide provided the Roos don't appeal.
