Appeal for Ablett on the cards after ban
GEELONG are certain to take Gary Ablett’s striking charge to the AFL tribunal after he was hit with a shock one-game ban.
It is the first suspension of the two-time Brownlow Medallist’s 328-game career.
He was reported in the first quarter of Sunday’s win over Essendon for striking Dylan Shiel high with a forearm.
Match reviewer Michael Christian announced the suspension yesterday afternoon and unless Geelong are successful at the tribunal, Ablett will miss next Sunday’s game against North Melbourne.
Ablett has been among the Cats’ best so far this season in his new permanent half-forward role, with Geelong a game clear at the top of the ladder. The overwhelming view was that Ablett would be fined and certainly Geelong coach Chris Scott’s comments post-match made it clear that the Cats did not think that the incident warranted a ban.
Shiel was not forced from the field and was high among Essendon’s best with a gamehigh 33 possessions.
But match reviewer Michael Christian graded it as intentional conduct, with low impact and high contact and that equated to a one-game suspension.
“The guidelines specify that a raised forearm is usually consistent that a strike is intentional,” Christian said.
“Gary’s forearm was raised, he jumped off the ground and made contact with Dylan Shiel.
“Nothing is ever clear-cut, there’s a lot of grey in lots of things, so it takes time to consider all aspects.
“We feel we’ve come to the right conclusion.”