Rioli fined, Carlisle out

WEST Coast youngster Willie Rioli avoided a suspension for a bum tap, but St Kilda’s Jake Carlisle copped a two-game ban for a Tiger whack.

Richmond premiership forward Jack Riewoldt was concussed after Carlisle’s clumsy and late attempted spoil during the first quarter of Saturday’s clash at the MCG.

AFL match review officer Michael Christian assessed the incident as careless conduct with high impact to the head.

He said the fact that Riewoldt was unconscious before he hit the ground was a factor in his finding.

“Three things we talk about with respect to impact are the visual look of the blow, the player’s reaction and the medical report,” Christian said yesterday.

“(With) the combination of those factors it was decided it was enough to get to high impact.

“Certainly that look wasn’t great and was part of the reason it edged up into high impact.”

The Saints have until 11am today to launch an appeal. The club doesn’t risk losing the key defender for longer if they fail to have the charge overturned.

Rioli was fined for tapping umpire Ray Chamberlain on the backside during the Eagles’ win over Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium.

While a common sense decision on the face of it, the youngster appears a touch lucky not to be referred directly to the tribunal given the wording of the match review guidelines about careless and intentional conduct.

Rioli gave away a 50m penalty for dropping his knees into the back of a prone Blake Hardwick late in the first quarter of Sunday’s game, then gave Chamberlain a friendly pat while running back to his mark.

A grading of intentional conduct would have seen Rioli sent straight to the tribunal. “It was an interesting one,” Christian said.

“Certainly taking into account recent adjudications by the tribunal and the appeals board it was decided that the most appropriate action was to grade it as careless rather than intentional. Rioli wasn’t looking at the umpire when the contact was made and we thought the best grading was careless.”

Geelong’s Tom Hawkins and Carlton’s Ed Curnow each received one-game bans for intentional umpire contact earlier this month, while Curnow’s brother Charlie and Gold Coast co-captain Steven May were fined for careless contact. Rioli also copped a $1500 fine for misconduct against Hardwick.

Nine players received fines, including Richmond superstar Dustin Martin for misconduct against St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster.