Nick Larkey has escaped sanction for a similar tackle to the one that resulted in teammate Paul Curtis copping a controversial three-match suspension.

Larkey chased down Bomber Jaxon Prior and tackled him from behind, pinning his arms and rolling him, as Prior hit the ground hard.

It was a near-identical tackle to Curtis’ tackle on Port player Josh Sinn, but unlike Sinn, Jaxon was not concussed and played out the rest of the game, which Essendon won 65-62. Essendon were awarded a free kick for Larkey’s tackle.

Before Match Review Officer Michael Christian handed down his decision, pundits were unsure if Larkey would have a case to answer.

Former St Kilda player Leigh Montagna said Larkey appeared to do the right thing by rolling Jaxon but that might see him cited for a dangerous tackle.

Jason Dunstall echoed the complaints of most in the AFL world that suspensions were being determined on outcome not intent with concussion a major factor.

“At the moment, they can tackle and it’s the result of that tackle that can cost them a suspension through no fault of their own,” he said.

The confusion over which tackles will earn suspension and which won’t came as Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge on Friday backed North coach Alastair Clarkson’s impassioned call for the AFL to overhaul the existing Tribunal guidelines.

Beveridge declared Curtis “extremely unlucky” to be suspended for three matches.

Curtis was banned for rough conduct over a dangerous tackle on Sinn in round seven.

Beveridge agrees with his counterpart that Curtis’ tackle was a “football action” and is adamant incidents where players have no intention to hurt opponents do not warrant suspensions.

The Dogs’ 2016 premiership mentor likened the Curtis-Sinn incident to Jackson Archer’s collision with Luke Cleary, which earned Archer a three-match ban. “The regulatory framework and the matrix that the AFL use is outdated now,” Beveridge said on Friday.

“We need to make sure that we need to look after the players who are playing the game and their intentions are pure.”

“I feel like Paul’s were in the action and he’s extremely unlucky.”

A deflated Clarkson lashed the AFL post-match over the Curtis ban.

“If the player hasn’t got any intent other than to try and lay the tackle… We understand the slings, but this is not a sling, this is a football action.

“Football action, he gets three weeks, someone swings an arm, off-the-ball incident, he gets less. It doesn’t make sense.

“Also doesn’t make sense that the AFL come out and say, ‘oh we might change that at the end of the year.’ It doesn’t help us. We’re really disappointed with that. Really disappointed.

“Because really strong leadership would say ‘we understand it’s wrong and we’ll change it right now.’ He shouldn’t be missing three weeks of footy.”

Beveridge said he feels the wording and framework of the table of classifiable offences in the Tribunal guidelines aren’t fit for purpose.

“It’s set up as a really clinical way of responding to a situation that happens on the footy field,” he said.

“I just believe it needs to be rejigged and thought through in a different way. As I’ve said, just use the civil law test and balance of probabilities.

“Did someone intend to hurt someone outside the laws of the game? If the answer is no, straight away (it should be) no penalty.

“You don’t need a matrix, you don’t need any framework.”

Beveridge clarified his concerns aren’t directly related to Christian or the tribunal itself.

“It just needs to be simplified around certain things and the people who are involved in it are trying to do their best with what they’ve got,” Beveridge said.

“But what they’ve got needs to be superseded.”

Curtis and teammate Luke Parker both protested the tackle ban on social media but were told by North Melbourne to remove their social media posts.

Sinn was concussed in the tackle from Curtis when his head hit the ground after the players’ weight had carried them forward.

AFL football boss Laura Kane admitted the three-match ban was a “jarring element” of the saga and suggested a new system could be considered at the end of the season.

But Kane also said this week the matrix had “served us well” because the aim is to make the game safer.