Lynch free to play, Boomer hit for six

Sportal September 11, 2012, 9:33 pm
Quinten Lynch

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West Coast utility Quinten Lynch is free to play in the Eagles' do-or-die clash with Collingwood on Saturday while North Melbourne veteran Brent Harvey has been slapped with a six-week ban for two separate incidents.

Lynch successfully had his one-match rough conduct charge thrown out at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night and is free to play in the Eagles' semi-final, but Harvey was not so lucky.

The 34-year-old copped four weeks for striking Lynch's team-mate Daniel Kerr and two for striking Adam Selwood in separate clashes.

Selwood's evidence that he did not see the punch on Kerr and denial Harvey had head-butted him did not wash with the tribunal, whose ruling keeps Harvey out until Round 7 next season.

Harvey could have accepted a four-match ban with early guilty pleas to the striking offences, but opted to fight the charge.

Earlier, Lynch successfully argued his knee to the back of North Melbourne defender Scott McMahon did not constitute a charge, deeming his action a 'genuine attempt to mark the ball'.

His legal counsel convinced the tribunal he had his eyes on the ball and that he could not alter his path once in flight.

Lynch had made a 45-metre lead during the first quarter of Sunday's elimination final and cannoned into the back of McMahon knee-first as the defender lunged back to take a courageous mark.

Harvey was unsuccessful in his bid to have his strike on Kerr downgraded from intentional to reckless.

Harvey said he attempted to push Kerr with his left hand just moments after the Eagles onballer had hit him in the stomach as he laid a block for team-mate Daniel Wells.

In the second incident, Harvey and Selwood were involved in a wrestle with the Eagle giving evidence that he received a forceful blow to the head.

The medical report showed two lacerations, one to Selwood's head and the other to his nose, but Harvey insisted he did not know how he received the lacerations and denied head-butting or punching him.

St Kilda's Leigh Montagna will miss St Kilda's opening game of the 2012 season after he had his one-match suspension for rough conduct upheld.

The midfielder was handed the penalty by the Match Review Panel following a clash with Carlton's Andrew Walker in the third quarter of the Saints' Round 23 clash with the Blues.

Montagna's front-on bump on Walker was deemed reckless, low impact and involving body contact, equating to 125 merit points.

Even with an early plea Montagna would still have received a one-match ban given he had already been suspended in the past three years.

Collingwood's Nick Maxwell had already been banned for two weeks having accepted the MRP's ruling for his off-the-ball hit on Hawk forward Paul Puopolo on Monday.


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AFL Ladder

2013 Premiership Season

Rank Team Won Lost Points
1 Hawthorn 7 1 28
2 Geelong Cats 7 1 28
3 Essendon 6 2 24
4 Sydney Swans 5 2 22
5 Fremantle 5 2 22
6 Port Adelaide 5 2 20
7 Collingwood 5 3 20
8 West Coast Eagles 4 4 16
9 Richmond 4 3 16
10 Gold Coast Suns 4 4 16