'Should be thrilled': Tribunal hands Patrick Dangerfield huge ban
Geelong Cats midfielder Patrick Dangerfield has been suspended for three weeks by the AFL tribunal over his hip and shoulder on Adelaide rival Jake Kelly.
Dangerfield's bump was judged to be of the 'severe' grading, leading the Tribunal to hand down a stiff punishment to the Cats superstar.
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The Cats had argued the bump should only have been graded 'high' impact in defending Dangerfield, but the Tribunal agreed with Match Review Officer Michael Christian, who assessed the contact as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
Kelly was left concussed and suffered a broken nose as a result of the bump, however Crows teammate Rory Sloane said Dangerfield, a former Crows player himself, had been 'unlucky'.
Sloane said it was simply unfortunate that Dangerfield had clashed heads with Kelly.
"It's a head clash. That's completely accidental and it's just part of footy really," Sloane told Sportsday.
"You can't control those and that's something that I certainly feel for Patty for, that it's completely incidental.
"He doesn't mean to headbutt Jake in the head and unfortunately for Jake, Patty's got quite a stiff head.
"He ran into a guy with a rock-hard melon. I've ran into that bloke, Danger, a couple of times and you certainly do come off second best normally."
So in the end Dangerfield gets the 3 game ban that most predicted.
I think he did himself and the game a disservice by trotting out the "it wasn't a bump" defence yesterday. He's the AFLPA President and should've accepted that bumps like that aren't part of the game anymore #AFL— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) March 23, 2021
Three weeks for Patrick Dangerfield ... he will miss matches against Brisbane, Hawthorn and Melbourne. Importantly, we have some clear guidelines as to what is at risk when a player chooses to bump and the opposition player is concussed. More soon @superfooty
— Glenn McFarlane (@MaccaHeraldSun) March 23, 2021
As the president of the AFLPA Patty Dangerfield should be thrilled the tribunal just upheld the rules around player safety.... It’s just a bit of a setback for Patty Dangerfield the Geelong superstar.
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) March 23, 2021
Kelly will miss at least the AFL's mandatory 12 days after suffering a concussion from the bump, with Sloane admitting he was still a little worse for wear.
The Crows veteran was nonetheless hopeful he would return to the field in short order.
"I think he's still a little bit groggy," Sloane said."Hopefully he pulls up well and we get him right for - I don't think this week - but maybe the weekend after."
Sun Ellis escapes with fine for high hit
Two-time premiership defender Brandon Ellis has escaped with a fine for his high hit on West Coast's Oscar Allen.
Ellis, who crossed from Richmond to Gold Coast at the end of 2019, collected Allen high with a late bump after the Eagles forward had kicked the ball.
The incident was assessed as careless conduct, low impact and high contact, meaning Ellis can accept a $2000 fine with an early guilty plea.
North Melbourne's Jared Polec was offered a $2000 fine for his dangerous tackle on Port's Darcy Byrne-Jones.
Giants defender Nick Haynes and St Kilda's Josh Battle were fined $1000 for wrestling each other, while St Kilda's Hunter Clark was fined $2000 for a dangerous tackle.
Meanwhile, North Melbourne best-and-fairest winner Luke McDonald will be sidelined for at least another fortnight with a quadriceps strain.
The defender was a late withdrawal from Sunday's round-one clash with Port Adelaide and will also miss games against Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs.
"Luke copped a cork recently which has unfortunately resulted in this latest quadriceps issue," Kangaroos football boss Brady Rawlings said.
"Luke had a scan today which revealed a slight strain in his quad, as a result of the corked thigh."
With AAP
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