Carlton‘s Adam Cerra has escaped a stint on the sidelines for careless contact on an umpire in what was a troubling night at the tribunal for North Melbourne‘s Tristan Xerri.
Cerra was the first player to front the tribunal since the AFL began its crackdown on careless umpire contact, with a strong emphasis placed on incidents at centre bounce.
Implemented last month, the new ruling states any player who records a fourth charge for the offence within a two-year window would immediately be referred to the tribunal.
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Cerra pleaded guilty to the offence as he fronted the tribunal, watching on via a video link to learn his fate for the act.
Carlton argued the 25-year-old should only be hit with a $5000 fine for the incident, insisting that he would have contested his previous sanctions had he known that the AFL was implementing a new policy on the matter.
However, the AFL was pushing for a $6250 fine to be given.
Following 30 minutes of deliberation, the two parties settled on a $5550 fine.
Carlton’s Adam Cerra (5) makes contact with the umpire. Fox Footy
Xerri was next to front the tribunal, with his spot in the All-Australian side placed under a dark cloud after an unsuccessful appeal to overturn a three-match ban.
Melbourne’s Tom Sparrow was left unconscious on the turf in Melbourne’s 136-point win over North Melbourne on Sunday, with the incident graded as careless conduct.
North Melbourne were hopeful the charge could be downgraded to accidental conduct at the tribunal on Tuesday evening, however it was not to be.
Xerri insisted that he did not intend to make high contact with Sparrow as he contested for the ball, rather believed he could “cause enough pressure to create a spillage” if he were to contact his rival’s chest.
“I know I can’t just go around swinging arms and hitting people intentionally,” he told the Tribunal.
“I know you’ve got to tackle with the duty of care now and the responsibility for other players.”
Tom Sparrow of the Demons is taken from the field. Getty
He then went on to note that his eyes were on the ball as soon as he left the ruck contest.
But tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson declared Xerri was “likely to strike Sparrow high regardless” of the points that had been made to overturn the sanction.
Meanwhile, Brisbane midfielder Zac Bailey was also unsuccessful at the tribunal.
The 25-year-old challenged a one-match verdict from the MRO for a bump on Carlton’s Nick Haynes, which was graded as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
Haynes managed to come out of the incident with no injury but the tribunal did not believe Bailey’s bump was low-impact, much to the Lions’ disappointment.
Bailey will miss the Lions’ match against the Western Bulldogs on Friday.
