AFL suspends Touk Miller after second look at QClash tackle

The AFL suspended Gold Coast midfielder Touk Miller for one match for conduct unbecoming over his tackle on Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko in the round 20 QClash at Heritage Bank Stadium on 29 July 2023. Miller was ruled unavailable for Gold Coast’s next match, against Adelaide.

The sanction followed a further investigation rather than the Match Review Officer’s initial process. The AFL said the incident was not referenced in the report issued the Sunday after the match. The league later interviewed both players and reviewed the vision again; after Zorko’s public comments, it said, a further medical report was provided.

The AFL’s stated finding was that Miller’s right hand made contact with Zorko’s groin region, external to his clothing, during the tackling contest. It said the conduct caused Zorko pain and discomfort. That was the league’s disciplinary finding, not an independent medical diagnosis.

Zorko said on the Monday after the match that his groin was “quite bruised.” Miller said: “It was not my intention to harm Dayne and if that has occurred from my actions I would like to apologise to him.” The statements supplied the competing accounts around an incident that had not produced a charge in the first review.

The tackle came in a match already marked by physical pressure. Gold Coast beat Brisbane 15.6 (96) to 7.13 (55), with the contemporary report describing the Suns as “in the Lions’ jumpers all game” and noting “a few spot-fires throughout the night.” Miller was matched on Lachie Neale from the opening bounce, while the report described Miller and Zorko as “reacquainting themselves with some heated words.”

Gold Coast said it was “extremely disappointed in the outcome” of the AFL’s decision. The one-match suspension left Miller unavailable for selection in Round 21 against Adelaide.