'It is so dangerous': Great warns of re-emerging trend

Rory Sloane fears the alarming trend of tunnelling is creeping back into the game amid a growing effort by teams to find an answer to stop Western Bulldogs gun Sam Darcy and other key forwards.

Standing at 208cm tall, Darcy is one of the toughest players to stop whenever the Bulldogs line up.

And a 49-point win against North Melbourne last week put a spotlight on the re-emerging trend as Wil Dawson searched for answers in his bid to stop Darcy.

PLAYER RATINGS: Star's 'worst game' that led to NSW implosion

READ MORE: Munster breaks down after 'superhuman' Maroons win Origin

READ MORE: Horner axed by Red Bull in Formula 1 bombshell

Still, the strategy could not entirely prevent Darcy from slotting goals for his team, with the key forward finding three of his four for the match in the final term.

The 21-year-old's one-on-one battle raised concerns for Sloane, who fears the defensive strategies he is facing are placing him at greater risk of a severe injury.

"Obviously it is incredibly hard to defend such a big beast," Sloane said on Nine's Footy Classified.

"But it seems that players are starting to tunnel again.

"I don't know if we need to stamp it out or send a word of warning out again, but when you jump and you are falling into the hips of a player it is so dangerous.

"It's not only Sam Darcy, it's Riley Thilthorpe, Josh Rachele. I'm concerned for players if they are going to pop the knee... it's how Josh Rachele did his knee on the weekend."

James Hird called for the AFL to award free kicks in response to tunnelling.

"It should be a free kick again," James Hird added.

"Although, it is very hard to stop Sam Darcy. There is definitely a tactic to body check him, hit him on his chest or his backside to push him forward and stop him marking."

Darcy is likely to be matched up against Adelaide Crows key defender Jordan Butts when the Western Bulldogs take the field at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.

However, Sloane does not believe concern with tunnelling will apply to Butts' game style.

"I think Jordan Butts plays on him this week and he very much likes to lock down and try to stop a player from jumping," he said.

Footy Classified is now available as a podcast! Subscribe/follow via Apple, Spotify or Google Podcasts

"He won't do the tunnel because he is more of a lock down kind of player. But it is going to have to come from the pressure up the field to help Jordan Butts out because Sam is too good."

Nine's Tom Morris questioned if the Western Bulldogs would be considering flagging tunnelling as a concern with the AFL if the matter is to escalate in the coming weeks.

Hird replied: "I can't imagine that they wouldn't be speaking about it.

"I think they would have identified it before we have."