Cunnington may fight ban

NORTH Melbourne could be without high-flyer Ben Cunnington for Round 1 after the Kangaroo was yesterday offered a one-match ban by the match review panel.

The Roo was charged with rough conduct for an incident with Hawk Taylor Duryea in Sunday’s clash at Arden St, with Duryea’s face split after making contact with Cunnington’s knee.

“Based on the available video evidence and a medical report from the Hawthorn Football Club, the incident was assessed as careless conduct with medium impact to the head,” the AFL match review panel said in a statement.

Cunnington will risk a twomatch ban should he decide today to challenge the suspension.

Port Adelaide’s Nathan Krakouer has also been offered a one-match penalty, charged with rough conduct against St Kilda defender Sean Dempster.

The incident, a late bump, was assessed as “careless conduct with medium impact to the head”, with the Power defender also risking an extra week on the sidelines should he challenge and fail.

Melbourne key forward Jesse Hogan was hit with a $1000 fine for making contact with an umpire in Saturday’s big win over Carlton.