The AFL wishes to advise the Match Review Panel has assessed the following incidents from the weekend's round of matches.
Charges Laid:
Leigh Montagna, St Kilda, has been charged with a first offence for wrestling Andrew Lovett, Essendon, during the three-quarter time break of the Round Five match between St Kilda and Essendon, played at Telstra Dome on Friday April 18, 2008.
In summary, he can accept a $900 sanction with an early plea.
A first offence for wrestling is a $1200 sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a $900 sanction.
Andrew Lovett, Essendon, has been charged with a first offence for wrestling Leigh Montagna, St Kilda, during the three quarter-time break of the Round Five match between Essendon and St Kilda, played at Telstra Dome on Friday April 18, 2008.
In summary, he can accept a $900 sanction with an early plea.
A first offence for wrestling is a $1200 sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a $900 sanction.
Daniel Pratt, North Melbourne, has been charged with a Level Two engaging in rough conduct offence against Josh Fraser, Collingwood, during the first quarter of the Round Five match between North Melbourne and Collingwood, played at the MCG on Saturday April 19, 2008.
In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction due to an existing five-year good record.
The incident was assessed as negligent conduct (one point), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points). This is a total of five activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Two offence, drawing 225 demerit points and a two-match sanction. He has an existing five-year good record, which reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 168.75 points and a one-match sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 126.56 points and a one-match sanction.
Matthew Whelan, Melbourne, has been charged with a Level Three striking offence against Brendan Fevola, Carlton, during the third quarter of the Round Five match between Melbourne and Carlton, played at the MCG on Sunday April 20, 2008.
In summary, his two-match sanction can be reduced to one match with an early plea.
The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points). This is a total of six activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Three offence, drawing 225 demerit points and a two-match sanction. He has an existing bad record of one match suspended within the last three years, increasing the penalty by 10 per cent to 247.50 points. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 185.63 points and a one-match sanction.
Chad Fletcher, West Coast, has been charged with a first offence for making negligent contact with umpire Hayden Ryan during the third quarter of the Round Five match between West Coast and Port Adelaide, played at Subiaco on Sunday April 20, 2008.
In summary, he can accept a $1950 sanction with an early plea.
A first offence for making negligent contact with an umpire is a $2600 sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a $1950 sanction.
Other Incidents Assessed:
The match day report against the Brisbane Lions' Jonathan Brown for charging Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell was assessed. The panel deemed that contact was unavoidable as Brown was endeavouring to get to the contest. At the last moment, Brown realised contact would be late so he pulled up, turned his body and placed an open hand on Mitchell's back to lessen the impact and to try to avoid significant contact. No further action was required.
The match day report against Carlton's Bret Thornton for striking Melbourne's Clint Bartram was assessed. It was ruled that Thornton's action was not deemed to be a strike and no further action was required.
The match day report against Melbourne's Matthew Whelan laid by the goal umpire for striking Carlton's Brendan Fevola was assessed. The charge was withdrawn as the Melbourne player's elbow did not make contact with Fevola.
Contact between Essendon's Matthew Lloyd and St Kilda's Max Hudghton from the first quarter of Friday's match was assessed. It was ruled that Lloyd's action did not have the force required to constitute a reportable offence. No further action was taken.
The actions of a number of players from the three-quarter time break of Friday's game were assessed. St Kilda's Leigh Montagna and Essendon's Andrew Lovett have each been charged with wrestling each other. The other players who converged on this pair were not vigorously grappling and struggling with each other. No further action was taken.
Contact between Geelong's Josh Hunt and Sydney's Jarred Moore from the fourth quarter of Saturday's match was assessed. Hunt's action was considered to be a shephered and his action was not considered unreasonable in the circumstances as;
- no high contact was made;
- the force applied was not excessive;
- Moore was actively involved in the play;
- Moore was not in a vulnerable position;
- the elbow was not part of the contact;
- Hunt did not leave the ground during his action.
No further action was taken.
Contact between Fremantle's Jeff Farmer and Adelaide's Graham Johncock from the second quarter of Saturday's match was assessed. Farmer did not make contact with Johncock's head or neck in the bump and his action was not considered unreasonable as;
- the degree of force was not considered excessive in the situation;
- Johncock was actively involved in the play;
- the distance that Farmer runs was not excessive;
- Johncock was in a position to protect himself;
- the elbow was not part of the contact.
No further action was taken.
Contact between Adelaide's Brett Burton and Fremantle's Steven Dodd from the third quarter of Saturday's match was assessed. Burton attempted to tackle Dodd at knee level. The Adelaide player grabbed Dodd's sock just below the knee as the Fremantle player pulled away. He pulled the sock down, which prevented the Fremantle player from leaving the area. Contact started at knee level and it was viewed as a hold, rather than a trip. No further action was taken.
Contact between Fremantle's Matthew Pavlich and Adelaide's Michael Doughty from the third quarter of Saturday's match was assessed. Pavlich's action was not considered unreasonable in the circumstances as Doughty dived in front of him as the Fremantle player attempted to get the ball. Most of the contact was made to the Adelaide player's left shoulder region. No further action was taken.
Contact between Melbourne's Daniel Bell and Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer from the second quarter of Sunday's match was assessed. Given the video evidence and the medical report, the contact to Kreuzer was made to his right shoulder and not his head / neck. Bell went into the contest with his hands down in an attempt to get the ball. Bell did not have a realistic alternative to contest the ball and nor was his action considered unreasonable in the circumstances. No further action was required.
Contact between Melbourne's Brent Moloney and Carlton's Darren Pfeiffer from the second quarter of Sunday's match was assessed. The impact was considered below that required to constitute a reportable offence. No further action was taken.
The actions of a number of players that followed the contact outlined previously between Melbourne's Brent Moloney and Carlton's Darren Pfeiffer was assessed. The incident was not considered a melee as there was no vigorous grappling or struggling between players. No further action was taken.
The actions of a number of players that followed the charge that was laid against Melbourne's Matthew Whelan for striking Brendan Fevola during the third quarter on Sunday's game were assessed. The incident was not considered a melee as there was no vigorous grappling or struggling between players. No further action was taken.
