Anglesea star Tom Couch will head to the AFL Barwon Tribunal tomorrow night (Wednesday) to challenge a suspension for an incident that left Torquay captain Ben McNamara with a concussion.
The Match Review Panel assessed the final-quarter bump as intentional conduct, high impact, and high contact, drawing a four-week suspension.
However, an early guilty plea would have reduced the ban to three weeks, allowing Couch to return for the season’s final round.
If Couch can’t get a reduction to the suspension, he won’t play again until the BFNL finals.
Portarlington ruck Daniel Riosa was set to challenge a two-week suspension for a high bump on Drysdale young gun Luke Preece.
However, he has accepted a one-week suspension with an early guilty plea which will see him miss this week’s meeting with Barwon Heads.
The MRP assessed the final-quarter incident as intentional conduct, body contact, and medium impact.
Two other charges were laid from the Demons’ loss to the Hawks at Mortimer Oval.
Drysdale forward Jake Hargreaves accepted a one-week suspension with an early guilty plea for rough conduct on Kelly Pickard in the final term.
He will miss the Hawks’ crucial clash with Queenscliff on Saturday.
And Pickard has taken the offer of a reprimand for instigating a melee.
Also in the Bellarine, Modewarre’s Nat Matthews was cleared of a high bump on Ocean Grove’s Connor Asquith, and the force of a late hit by Geelong Amateur’s captain Harry Kershaw on Barwon Heads’ Angus Ford was deemed insufficient.
In the GFNL, former AFL duo Devon Smith and Jonathan Simpkin have accepted one-week suspensions with early guilty pleas.
Lara co-coach Smith’s report for striking Harry Purcell in the opening quarter of the Cats’ win over North Shore was assessed as intentional conduct, high contact, and low impact.
He was already planning not to play against South Barwon this week.
Simpkin will miss Colac’s clash with Newtown & Chilwell after being cited for rough conduct on Bell Park young gun Euriah Hollard in the Tigers’ win over the Dragons.
The incident was assessed as careless conduct, high contact, and low impact.
2016 Mathieson medallist Nathan Deans will be ineligible this year after accepting a reprimand for a bump on South Barwon’s Tom Peirce in Grovedale’s loss to the Swans at McDonald Reserve.
South’s Jackson Carmody also took the reprimand on offer for a high bump on Tiger Rory Quinn.
Geelong West’s Emmanuel Ajang was cleared of striking an unknown Leopold player, and reigning GFNL Rookie of the Year Hunter Lewis had no case to answer for a melee against St Albans.
In the GDFNL, Bell Post Hill’s Clancy Mackay accepted a reprimand for striking Inverleigh’s Dan Grozdanovski.
The incident during the second quarter of the Panthers’ loss to the Hawks was assessed as intentional conduct, body contact, and low impact.
The MRP also looked at a melee between the two clubs but didn’t lay any charges.
And Belmont Lions star Jed Evans is in the clear for contact with Corio’s Jack Green in the opening quarter of the win at Shell Reserve.
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