Ex-Rostrevor Old Collegians player Sam Bridge calls for end to on-field violence after having jaw broken

FORMER amateur footballer Sam Bridge is calling for an end to on-field violence after an incident left him eating liquid food and unable to work.

FORMER Rostrevor Old Collegians footballer Sam Bridge is calling for an end to on-field violence after an off-the-ball incident left him eating liquid food and unable to work.

Bridge, 36, had his jaw broken by Salisbury North's Shane Jordan during the SA Amateur Football League division one grand final replay at Thebarton Oval on September 27.

Jordan was last week hit with a six-game ban (two games suspended) for striking Bridge, becoming the third Salisbury North player to be suspended following the game.

The incident in the second quarter led to Bridge eating soft foods and being unable to work as a self-employed builder for a fortnight.

He said it also cost him two weeks' worth of income and about $2000 in medical expenses after having his jaw realigned.

"We're all out there for a good time and to play footy," said Bridge, who joined the club in 2005.

"It's all good and well everyone playing hard, contested footy, but you should be able to do that without copping unnecessary injuries like this.

"If I got my jaw broken because I had my head over the ball and I got cleaned up by someone, that's fine, I'd cop that.

"But to get hit unnecessarily when you're off the ball is unfair play."

Bridge, of Kent Town, is considering civil action against Jordan to reclaim some of his costs resulting from the incident.

"I've got one more doctor's appointment in early December and once all that's out the way and I know exactly what I have to pay medical-wise ... I'll speak to a solicitor and see what they suggest (regarding civil action)," he said.

Bridge's recollection of the incident largely stems from video of the game because he was knocked unconscious for a few moments.

But he believed it was a deliberate, avoidable act.

"He knew I was there ... and threw his arm back without looking.

"It wasn't in the contest, it was between three and five metres off the ball."

Bridge was surprised by the length of Jordan's ban, saying he should have got at least seven matches.

But he praised the league's overall hard line approach to penalising on-field violence.

Bridge returned to work last month yet still cannot open his mouth properly or chew hard foods.

He is retiring from football, though not as a result of the injury, and does so disappointed in how his playing career ended.

"It's a good thing we won, otherwise I'd have been a lot sorer," he said.

Salisbury North and Jordan declined to comment.

SAAFL chief executive Grant Goodall did not comment about the Jordan case specifically, but said the league was disappointed with some of the on-field behaviour in the grand final replay.

Goodall said Salisbury North was not a problem club.

He said the league handed down some of the toughest penalties in Australia and had a duty of care to continue to protect players.

"We've got a zero tolerance to dangerous play," Goodall said.

Goodall said the league would hold workshops with officials from all clubs in pre-season for the second straight year to reaffirm its expectations regarding codes of conduct on and off the field.