Dwell
Adelaide ahead Shane McAdam has been banned for 3 video games by the AFL Tribunal after utilizing Melbourne ace Kysaiah Pickett’s bump as a part of his defence.
Pickett was suspended for 2 video games for his blow that felled Western Bulldog Bailey Smith within the opening spherical.
The Crows, defending McAdam’s tough conduct cost from an identical incident, used Pickett footage and Sydney megastar Lance Franklin’s bump which resulted in a one-game ban throughout spherical one.
McAdam contested the grading of his hit on Higher Western Sydney’s Jacob Wehr throughout a 70-minute listening to on Tuesday evening.
However after deliberating for an additional 40 minutes, the three-member tribunal chaired by Jeff Gleeson QC, suspended the 44-gamer for 3 matches.
McAdam’s hit on Wehr was graded as extreme influence, careless conduct and excessive contact by match evaluate officer Michael Christian.
However Adelaide’s Tom Duggan QC argued there was no extreme head contact when McAdam mainly made contact with Wehr’s chest and shoulder, dispossessing the Big of the ball.
“In that sense, it is solely professional for a bump to be made… it is completely tremendous,” Duggan advised the listening to.
“That is clearly not a excessive bump as a result of it would not in any method contain the pinnacle.
“Sure it was a troublesome bump however… it was solely truthful.”
Adelaide additionally used video of previous bump incidents which resulted in two-game bans for Patrick Dangerfield on Jake Kelly, and Paddy Ryder on Will Day.
And the Crows tabled a report by Dr Robert Crowther, a biomechanics knowledgeable, describing the hit as not having important head contact on the Big.
Andrew Woods, for the AFL, mentioned McAdam, with a “excessive diploma of carelessness”, breached his responsibility of care to Wehr.
“It fell beneath what an inexpensive participant would think about prudent,” Woods mentioned.
The potential to trigger harm needed to be thought-about when penalizing McAdam, he mentioned.
“There is a deliberate … launching of the physique,” Woods mentioned.
“It was a turning and a launching and a option to convey the quantity of drive.”
Melbourne’s Pickett’s accepted a two-game ban and prevented a tribunal listening to after his bump was deemed excessive influence, careless conduct and excessive contact.
The similarities of the Pickett and McAdam incidents with differing gradings and outcomes for the pair, have been queried by some gamers and pundits.
Collingwood stalwart Scott Pendlebury is amongst these calling for a change to the match evaluate system.
-AAP
