Hahndorf Football Club player cops major ban for off-ball hit against Mount Lofty

Another local footy player has been suspended for the remainder of the 2023 season after landing a potentially career-ending hit on an opponent over the weekend. See the aftermath.

A Hills Football League player has been handed a 10-game suspension by the competition after landing an off-ball hit on an opponent last weekend.

A Hahndorf A Grade player is set to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines after receiving a 10-game ban for striking a Mount Lofty opponent off the ball during the round 13 affair between the two clubs at Mount Lofty on Saturday.

The Mount Lofty player was left dazed and hobbling from the ground and was later taken to hospital where he discovered he had sustained a serious concussion and was told by doctors that he should not play football again.

The Hahndorf player was originally given a three-week ban by tribunal this week before the HFL stepped in to extend the suspension based on the intent and severity of the act.

“This incident – to which there were witnesses – was an off-ball incident involving an intentional strike to the back of another player’s head,” A Hills Football League official told The Advertiser.

A Mount Lofty player lies motionless on the ground after being hit off the ball by a Hahndorf player. He was hospitalised.

“The number of games the player is suspended for should reflect the severity of the offence and the level of violence of an act which is out of the eye of umpires, and act as a deterrent so that it sends a clear message about what will happen if players engage in this conduct.

“We are seeing this happen at AFL and SANFL level, we need to see that same message enforced in community football leagues as well, we expect leagues to uphold the same community expectation that this type of behaviour is unacceptable.”

The incident comes just one week after a Portland player was given a ban of the same length for an off-ball hit on a Mitcham opponent in the Adelaide Footy League, and three months after HFL player Antonio Loiacono passed away from concussion related injury during a game between Birdwood and Gumeracha.

The Hills FL incident comes just one week after a Portland player was handed a 10-game ban for an off the ball hit in the Adelaide Footy League.

“Player safety is extremely important and injuries involving concussion are still a very sensitive and raw subject given the passing of a player in the HFL earlier this season,” the Hills FL official said.

“While the two events are not at all comparable in nature, they highlight the need to ensure that the welfare of players is protected and that head injuries while playing footy need to be prevented and deterred wherever possible – particularly those that can be avoided such as this one.”

As Hahndorf sits undefeated on top of the ladder and will play finals, the player in question will miss the remainder of the season.