Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has been handed a three-match ban for the collision with Darcy Byrne-Jones that left the Port Adelaide forward with a concussion.
With Byrne-Jones running back with the flight in pursuit of the ball, Pearce arrived front-on, with the pair colliding moments after Byrne-Jones had attempted to mark.
Byrne-Jones was quickly taken off and subbed out of the match with concussion.
Match Review Officer Michael Christian graded the incident as careless conduct with high contact and severe impact to trigger the hefty suspension; however, the Dockers are all but certain to challenge the verdict at the AFL Tribunal.
Speaking after the Dockers’ win, coach Justin Longmuir was adamant Pearce shouldn’t be suspended.
“Extreme courage [from Byrne-Jones] to go back with the flight like that and touch the ball before Alex gets there, but from what I see Alex is making a play on the ball – I don’t think he makes contact with the head,” Longmuir said.
“What’s Alex supposed to do in that situation? Pull out of that contest and let him mark it going back with the flight?
“He’d get crucified if Alex pulled out of that contest. That’s what would happen.”
The incident – and subsequent suspension – is the latest in a line of controversial MRO rulings to occur in 2025, which includes North Melbourne forward Paul Curtis being handed a three-match ban for a tackle on Port Adelaide’s Josh Sinn that also resulted in a concussion.
The Kangaroos challenged the ban at the Tribunal, but were unsuccessful.
Hawthorn midfielder Jai Newcombe escaped with a whopping $10,000 fine for a dangerous tackle on Brisbane’s Jarrod Berry during the Hawks’ loss on Saturday afternoon.
That incident, like Pearce’s, was graded as careless conduct with high contact, but due to the impact being only ‘low’ as Berry wasn’t concussed, he was hit with a fifth offence fine for rough conduct and not a suspension.
