NORTH Melbourne and Port Adelaide suffered blows on Tuesday night when the two clubs each had cornerstones of their defences rubbed out at the AFL tribunal.
In cases of contrasting lengths, Kangaroo Daniel Pratt and Power defender Troy Chaplin were both suspended after their challenges came up short.
Neither man was risking harsher penalties by taking their case to the tribunal.
Therefore Pratt, charged with striking charge Swan Nick Malceski, will only miss North’s clash with Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium on Sunday.
Chaplin will miss a fortnight – matches against Melbourne and West Coast – after being found guilty of charging Brisbane Lion young gun Daniel Rich.
Field umpire Chris Kamolins booked the Port Adelaide backman on the day and gave evidence at Tuesday night’s hearing, saying he deemed Chaplin’s contact “late, unnecessary and unreasonable” in the circumstances.
Chaplin, however, argued that he had no realistic alternative as he was committed to making a contest.
“I’m not sure what I’m expected to do in that situation,” he told the tribunal via video link-up from Adelaide.
“I’m not sure how I could deviate when I’ve chosen to go.”
The case lasted about an hour, but the three-man jury took little time in finding Chaplin guilty.
The second case, involving Pratt, only took around 20 minutes.
Replays of the Kangaroo’s strike on Malceski showed Pratt – while on his knees – throwing his arm back and elbowing his opponent in the stomach region as the Swan stood over him.
The North Melbourne defender’s player advocate, Iain Findlay, tried unsuccessfully to downgrade Pratt’s charge of striking from intentional to reckless.
Had he been successful Pratt would have been free to take on the Hawks.
“I would do the same thing again,” Pratt said, indicating that similar incidents occurred several times each match.
Findlay, who acknowledged a strike had been made but disputed the intent, requested the jury offer the North defender a severe reprimand.
He also pointed to the fact that Pratt, who was getting to his feet after receiving a free kick, was not reported on the day, nor was his kick reversed.
“You can’t get any better than an umpire six steps away,” Findlay said.
However the tribunal, upon considering whether Pratt had intentionally struck Malceski, found the North backman guilty, meaning he will sit out this week’s clash against the reigning premiers.
Earlier in the day, Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan accepted a one-match ban for headbutting Port Adelaide’s Josh Carr, Demon Colin Sylvia accepted three weeks for striking while Carlton’s Mark Austin accepted one week for striking.
