Ablett faces ban for Miles jaw jab
AUSSIE RULES GARY Ablett’s latest outburst has earned him an AFL suspension with the league declaring it will not tolerate players striking each other off the ball.
Match review officer Michael Christian handed down a one-game ban to the Geelong champion, who caught Gold Coast opponent Anthony Miles square in the jaw with a right-arm jab during the Cats’ win at Metricon Stadium.
It was the third time in four weeks that 35-year-old Ablett had faced match review scrutiny in a bizarre ill-disciplined run for the decorated veteran.
Ablett successfully challenged a one-game suspension for a high hit on Essendon’s Dylan Shiel at the tribunal after round seven, then escaped sanction for a similar head-high bump on North Melbourne’s Sam Wright a week later.
Unlike both of those incidents, Ablett’s hit on Miles was well off the ball. The question was whether it would be classified as insufficient force. STRIKE: Geelong’s Gary Ablett (right) scuffles with Gold Coast’s Anthony Miles.
But while Miles was quickly back on his feet, Christian ruled Ablett’s strike had the potential to cause serious injury.
“That was certainly considered, and that’s certainly relevant for highly intentional actions, as this was,” he said.
“Taking into account all the factors that we look at when grading impact and the potential to cause injury, we were comfortable that it sat under low-impact.”
Christian said the latest incident had been assessed independently of Ablett’s recent misdemeanours.
However, the recent suspensions handed to Richmond duo Dustin Martin and Ivan Soldo for similar incidents had made clear the AFL’s views.
“Any striking action, off the ball in particular, is something that we don’t want to see in the game,” Christian said.
Geelong have until 11am today to decide whether Ablett – who has never served a suspension in 331 games – will face the tribunal for the second time this year. Race 1: 2 Clever Choice $10.50 $3.70 3 Fighting Faith $1.50 4 Let’s Keep It NTD. Q: $17.10. E: $26.50. T: $274.90. FIRST 4: (2 3 4 6) $666.60. Scr: 7. Race 2: 12 Three Beans $1.50 $1.10 7 Cimota $2.00 2 Highway To Success $1.30. Q: $10.10. E: $12.10. T: $25.40. A2: 7-12: $3.50, 2-12: $1.40, 2-7: $4.70. FIRST 4: (12 7 2 1) $81.80. Scr: 4,6,9,10. Race 3: 3 Iron Lion $19.10 $3.40 2 Comte $2.80 7 Stylish Pattern $3.40. Q: $96.60. E: $208.30. T: $2,307.30. A2: 2-3: $19.90, 3-7: $29.10, 2-7: $16.10. FIRST 4: (3 2 7 1) $8,597.20. Scr: 13. Race 4: 4 Espadeiro $2.80 $1.40 12 Redeemed $4.00 5 Rugged Roy $1.70. Q: $20.90. E: $37.30. T: $152.30. A2: 4-12: $7.50, 4-5: $2.20, 5-12: $8.30. FIRST 4: (4 12 5 11) $492.80. Scr: 8. Race 5: 2 Vassa Blue $2.80 $1.40 9 Gingerjack $7.40 3 Freedoms $2.30. Q: $43.80. E: $69.80. T: $702.30. A2: 2-9: $27.20, 2-3: $5.40, 3-9: $17.40. FIRST 4: (2 9 3 1) $4,367.60. Scr: 6,8. Race 6: 1 Star Hills $3.70 $1.50 7 Zizi La Fille $2.50 6 Theodolite $3.30. Q: $15.30. E: $25.20. T: $288.00. A2: 1-7: $6.30, 1-6: $10.50, 6-7: Race 1: 1 Chevron Prince $3.40 $1.40 9 Friendly Venture $2.90 10 Kohinoor Road $1.30. Q: $13.00. E: $36.80. T: $69.30. A2: 1-9: $5.90, 1-10: $2.30, 9-10: $4.20. FIRST 4: (1 9 10 13) $175.20. Scr: 2,3,4,6,12,16,17,18. Race 2: 3 Waverton Lad $8.30 $2.60 17 Vonnegutesque $2.30 6 Tapanui $1.50. Q: $26.00. E: $51.70. T: $275.60. A2: 3-17: $7.90, 3-6: $7.90, 6-17: $6.50. FIRST 4: (3 17 6 1) $1,034.40. Scr: 7L,2,5,16,18. Race 3: 4 Sugar Dance $4.40 $1.60 5 Go The Gantry $1.40 1 Pippi’s Pride $2.60. Q: $9.10. E: $18.80. T: $72.20. A2: 4-5: $3.30, 1-4: $7.00, 1-5: $6.70. FIRST 4: (4 5 1 9) $418.80. Scr: 2,3. Race 4: 6 Pauldron $1.80 $1.20 5 Mayaman $1.20 1 Comzig $3.60. Q: $2.20. E: $3.30. T: $18.00. A2: 5-6: $1.30, 1-6: $6.00, 1-5: $4.20. FIRST 4: (6 5 1 4) $199.00. Scr: 15L,8. Race 5: 11 Modern Family $8.00 $2.80 10 Greenskeeper $1.60 8 The Cyprian $5.00. Q: $14.20. E: $35.90. T: $219.30. A2: 10-11: $4.40, 8-11: $17.90, 8-10: $5.60. FIRST 4: (11 10 8 4) $312.80. Scr: 1,14,17. Race 6: 12 Sipharderson $3.90 $1.40 14 Emo Girl $10.50 13 The Scotsman $6.30. Q: $81.90. E: $94.30. T: $1,935.70. A2: 12-14: $23.80, 1213: $15.70, 13-14: $108.90. FIRST 4: (12 14 13 5) $6,408.40. Scr: 19L,1,2,3,6,7,16,17. Race 7: 4 Squared $5.90 $2.40 10 Ecstatically $2.10 8 Rosesay $4.00. Q: $26.70. E: $45.10. T: $520.70. A2: 4-10: $9.40, 4-8: $16.00, 8-10: $29.40. FIRST 4: (4 10 8 14) $4,835.00. Scr: 1,5,17,18. Race 8: 9 California Fox $33.60 $8.20 7 Petain $3.00 8 Skin Deep $2.90. Q: $194.50. E: $1,121.20. T: $1,905.50. A2: 7-9: $38.50, 8-9: $37.50, 7-8: $25.10. FIRST 4: (9 7 8 12) $3,890.60. Scr: 4L,2,11,13,15. Race 9: 14 Billy Bent Ear $7.80 $3.00 7 Escebee $2.50 1 Attalea $2.20. Q: $23.30. E: $57.90. T: $349.50. A2: 7-14: $9.00, 1-14: $12.30, 1-7: $9.50. FIRST 4: (14 7 1 13) $1,133.60. Scr: 2. EXTRA DOUBLE: 6 Pauldron 11 Modern Family $17.90. SUB: 6 10 . DOUBLE: 9 California Fox 14 Billy Bent Ear $397.70. SUB: 12 3 . TREBLE: 4 Squared 9 California Fox 14 Billy Bent Ear $3,292.30. SUB: 7 12 3 . QUADDIE: 12 Sipharderson 4 Squared 9 California Fox 14 Billy Bent Ear $9,282.90. SUB: 8 7 12 3 .