Power midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper may face fine for umpire contact despite on-field apology

HE HIGH-fived the umpire to make sure he was OK but Port Adelaide midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper is still expected to be fined for accidentally bowling him over in the fourth quarter in Shanghai on Saturday.

Sam Powell-Pepper kicked two goals in the final quarter of Port Adelaide’s win over Gold Coast in China on Saturday. Picture: David Mariuz (AAP).

HE HIGH-fived the umpire to make sure he was OK but Port Adelaide midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper is still expected to be fined for accidentally bowling him over in the fourth quarter in Shanghai on Saturday.

Powell-Pepper was running towards the ball in the forward pocket during the win over Gold Coast when field umpire Leigh Fisher ran blindly into his path. The two collided and Fisher hit the ground before making his way to the boundary.

With a break in play, Powell-Pepper then ran towards him and the pair low-fived to suggest both were OK.

Even better for Powell-Pepper, that led to him finding space in the forward 50m and he kicked a miracle goal over his head from the goal line.

“That is magnificent, elite,” Fox Footy commentator Brad Johnson said.

“He’ll probably still get fined for umpire contact but they should halve the fine for going over while the ball was still in play and high fiving the ump and going ‘sorry mate’, and good on the ump for giving a high-five back and going ‘no dramas’.

“Then he goes and kicks an unbelievable goal.”

Retired St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt said getting to the umpire to make sure he was not injured was a smart move from Powell-Pepper who may have been concerned the incident would attract the attention of match review officer Michael Christian.

Sydney's Lance Franklin with Fremantle's Joel Hamling after Saturday night’s clash Picture. Phil Hillyard

The most contentious incident Christian was to assess from the weekend was Sydney superstar Lance Franklin’s wayward elbow on Fremantle’s Joel Hamling on Saturday night.

Franklin gathered a loose ball then as he stood up caught Hamling high with an elbow/forearm to his head.

Hamling left the ground with blood on his face and was ruled out of the rest of the game with concussion.

“He seems OK, it was a concussion, but hopefully he recovers well enough to get up and if he doesn’t we wouldn’t play him next week,” Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said after the game.

Sydney coach John Longmire said he hadn’t seen it.

“I actually didn’t see it, it was only when someone said that Hamling was off (that I realised), so I actually can’t comment,” Longmire said.

Franklin returned from a three-week lay-off with injury to kick three goals in Sydney’s win over the Dockers.