Ted Richards takes NEAFL ban to keep AFL hopes alive
TED Richards said he had to cop a one-match ban in the NEAFL or effectively risk three games on the sidelines and blow any chance of a return to senior football this season.
TED Richards said he had to cop a one-match ban in the NEAFL last weekend or effectively risk three games on the sidelines and blow any chance of a return to senior football this season.
Richards took the early guilty plea for head-high contact to have the ban reduced from two weeks to one.
“If I was to challenge it and lose, unfortunately the (Swans reserves) NEAFL has a bye the following week, so I was risking a three-week suspension,” Richards said.
“It would have been hard to push my case to get back into the team if I didn’t play any footy for three weeks.
Richards has announced he will retire at the end of this season after 261 games for the Swans and Essendon.
He also expressed his desire to win his spot back in Sydney’s senior team after being dropped following the round 17 loss to Hawthorn at the SCG.
The Swans defender said the suspension was a surprise.
“I didn’t think there was anything in it at the time,’’ Richards said.
“I must have made head- high contact and that’s what they got me on. It’s going to be hard to push my case to get back into the team if I don’t play any footy for three weeks.”
Originally published as Ted Richards takes NEAFL ban to keep AFL hopes alive