Crows appeal over ‘unjust’ Marinoff ban
ADELAIDE will appeal the three-game ban handed to star midfielder Ebony Marinoff for a collision that left Greater Western Sydney recruit Brid Stack with a fractured neck.
Marinoff on Tuesday was hit with the longest suspension in AFLW history after the AFL tribunal found her guilty of forceful front-on contact for the bump that fractured Stack’s C7 vertebrae.
The Crows will appeal on the grounds the decision was unreasonable and the sanction “grossly disproportionate”.
Marinoff pleaded not guilty to the charge arguing she had no viable alternative in the contest which the club has argued was unavoidable. The tribunal disagreed.
The three-match ban is the equivalent of a third of the AFLW season but is the statutory minimum for such a charge in the AFL.
The AFL’s appeals board will sit this afternoon to hear Adelaide’s appeal.
In a strongly-worded statement, Crows’ head of women’s football Phil Harper said the club was contesting the tribunal on the grounds the decision was unreasonable and that the sanction imposed was excessive.
He said the appeal was in the best interests of the club.
“We are appealing this decision because we all feel the suspension is grossly disproportionate for the action,” Harper said.
“We need to support our player in this instance, as we feel Ebony acted in an appropriate manner given the circumstances of this incident.”
Crows AFLW coach Matthew Clarke described the bump – which occurred in the final minute of a practice match on Sunday – as a “football incident”.
He said the Crows were compelled to appeal and support their 23-year-old, twotime All-Australian midfielder.
“Ebony plays the game in the manner we want all players to play and, in my opinion, she made every effort to minimise the impact of what was an unavoidable footy collision,” premiership coach Clarke said.
“With regard to the penalty, as coaches and administrators we have a duty of care to our players.
“Ebony and all other AFLW players train incredibly hard for nine months for the opportunity to play just nine games.
“We feel it is unjust and disproportionate to have one third of those games taken away by what I believe to be an unavoidable incident.
“We believe it’s important to not only support our players but to question an outcome which we see as placing an unreasonable expectation on all players to avoid contact in circumstances where the ball is in dispute.”
If the appeal is unsuccessful, Marinoff won’t risk adding more games to her suspension, however the Crows will cop the financial cost.