The AFL wishes to advise the Match Review Panel has assessed the following incidents from the weekend's round of matches.  

Charges Laid:

Sam Lonergan, Essendon, has been charged with a First offence for making negligent contact with an umpire during the third quarter of the Round Four match between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs, played at Telstra Dome on Friday April 11, 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.

Brad Johnson, Western Bulldogs, has been charged with a First offence for making negligent contact with an umpire during the third quarter of the Round Four match between the Western Bulldogs and Essendon, played at Telstra Dome on Friday April 11, 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.

Brad Miller, Melbourne, has been charged with a Level One engaging in rough conduct offence against Daniel Pratt, North Melbourne, during the first quarter of the Round Four match between Melbourne and North Melbourne, played at the MCG on Saturday April 12, 2008.

In summary, his sanction must remain as a one-game penalty due to his previous poor record, even with an early plea.

The incident was assessed as reckless conduct (two points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of four activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level One offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. He has an existing bad record of four matches suspended within the last three years, increasing the penalty by 40 per cent to 175 demerit points. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent 131.25 points and a one-match sanction. 

Ryan Gamble, Geelong, has been charged with a Level Three striking offence against Nick Dal Santo, St Kilda, during the second quarter of the Round Four match between Geelong and St KIlda, played at Telstra Dome on Saturday April 12, 2008.

In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction 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 no existing good or bad record. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 168.75 points and a one-match sanction.

Cameron Mooney, Geelong, has been charged with a Level Two tripping offence against Leigh Montagna, St Kilda, during the third quarter of the Round Four match between Geelong and St Kilda, played at Telstra Dome on Saturday April 12, 2008.

In summary, his sanction must remain as a one-game penalty due to his previous poor record, even with an early plea.

The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of five activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Two offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. He has an existing bad record of five matches suspended within the last three years, increasing the penalty by 50 per cent to 187.50 points. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 140.63 points and a one-match sanction.

Barry Hall, Sydney, has been charged with striking Brent Staker, West Coast, during the first quarter of the Round Four match between Sydney and West Coast, played at ANZ Stadium on Saturday April 12, 2008.

In summary, his total activation points saw the case referred directly to the Tribunal for its determination under the MRP rules and there is no offer of an early plea.

The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), severe impact (four points) and high contact (two points). This is a total of nine activation points, and any offence with nine points results in the charge being automatically forwarded to the Tribunal for its determination under MRP guidelines. He has no existing good or bad record.

Nathan Bassett, Adelaide, has been charged with a Level One striking offence against Rick Ladson, Hawthorn, during the fourth quarter of the Round Four match between Adelaide and Hawthorn, played at Aurora Stadium on Sunday April 13, 2008.

In summary, he can accept a reprimand and 60 points towards his future record, with an early plea.

The incident was assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points). This is a total of four activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level One offence, drawing 80 demerit points and a reprimand. He has no existing good or bad record. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a reprimand and 60 points towards his future record.

Nick Maxwell, Collingwood, has been charged with a Level Four striking offence against Marc Murphy, Carlton, during the first quarter of the Round Four match between Collingwood and Carlton, played at the MCG on Sunday April 13, 2008.

In summary, he can accept a one-game sanction with an early plea, due to an existing five-year good record.

The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points). This is a total of seven activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Four offence, drawing 325 demerit points and a three-match sanction. He has an existing five-year good record, which reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 243.75 points and a two-match sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 182.81 points and a one-match sanction.

Steven Dodd, Fremantle, has been charged with a Level Two tripping offence against Jack Riewoldt, Richmond, during the fourth quarter of the Round Four match between Fremantle and Richmond, played at Subiaco on Sunday April 13, 2008.

In summary, his sanction must remain as a one-game penalty due to his previous poor record, even with an early plea.

The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of five activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Two offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-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 137.50 points. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 103.13 points and a one-match sanction. 

Other Incidents Assessed:  

The match day report against Carlton's Nick Stevens for striking Collingwood's Alan Didak was assessed.  Stevens' action was not considered a strike. No further action was required.

Contact between Essendon's Nathan Lovett-Murray and the Western Bulldogs' Ryan Hargrave from the third quarter of Friday's match was assessed. Lovett-Murray led for the ball and, at the last moment, Hargrave cut in front of the Essendon player to contest the mark. The contact was considered unavoidable and therefore not reportable.

Contact between Geelong's Trent West and St Kilda's Xavier Clarke from the second quarter of Saturday's match was assessed. West's action was deemed by the panel to be a block / shepherd and the contact was not considered unnecessary in the circumstances as;

1 - the bulk of the contact was to Clarke's body.
2 - West did not use his elbow as part of the contact.
3 - West did not leave the ground during his action.
4 - West did not run a great distance to make contact.
No further action was taken.

Contact between Sydney's Adam Goodes and West Coast's Tyson Stenglein from the third quarter of Saturday's match was assessed. It was the view of the panel the high contact was caused by circumstances outside the control of player Goodes in that Stenglein turned slightly into the Sydney player and ducked his head just before contact was made. No further action was taken.

Contact between Collingwood's Dale Thomas and Carlton's Nick Stevens from the second quarter of Sunday's match was assessed. The impact of Thomas' contact on Stevens was below that required to constitute a reportable offence. No further action was taken.

Contact between Fremantle's Chris Tarrant and Richmond's Kelvin Moore from the first quarter of Sunday's match was assessed. Tarrant's action was considered a legitimate attempt to spoil and not a reportable offence. No further action was taken.

The match review panel also considered a couple of instances where players made contact with umpires after being pushed. The Panel has not laid any reports this week in any of these instances, but wishes to state that a player who pushes an opponent into an umpire can be charged with an offence.