Anthony Caminiti facing lengthy ban after hitting Pies player off the ball

A young St Kilda star is staring down the barrel of a lengthy stint on the sidelines after losing his cool in the dying stages of a thriller.

St Kilda's Anthony Caminiti is in strife.

Young St Kilda star Anthony Caminiti looks set for a stint on the sidelines after a silly off the ball act against Collingwood on Sunday.

Late in the fourth quarter thriller, Caminiti was deep in St Kilda’s forward line with Nathan Murphy paying him close attention.

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Murphy appears to shove his opponent, causing the youngster to turn around and forcefully shove the Pies defender with his second shove appearing to collect Murphy high and sending him crashing to the turf.

The incident occurred a long way off the ball which isn’t a good look, but making matters worse for Caminiti is the fallout.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed after the match Murphy would miss the Anzac Day contest after suffering a concussion.

McRae said he had not seen the incident.

Murphy has a history of head injuries so while the Pies could well be playing it safe, but it still paints a bleak picture for Caminiti.

As he made his way off the ground he shared some choice words with the youngster and continued his verbal barrage after the final siren.

He confirmed there were words exchanged between Caminity and Murphy and said Murphy may have been concussed during the exchange.

Anthony Caminiti hits Nathan Murphy off the ball

St Kilda's Anthony Caminiti is in strife.

“I was on the bench when he came off and I’m not sure what was said.” McRae said.

“Whether Murph was concussed and didn’t know what he was saying, I’ve got no idea. But the reality is he came of and he said something, but again I don’t know. He was obviously upset about something.”

The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph wrote: “Collingwood says Nathan Murphy will miss Anzac Day with concussion. It doesn’t help Caminiti at all at the MRO. It is the latest in a long line of concussions for Murphy. Not sure how that factors into the grading. Caminiti reacted to a push but clearly hit Murphy high.”

Nathan Murphy went down after this incident with Caminiti. Anything in it?

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— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) April 16, 2023

Collingwood says Nathan Murphy will miss Anzac Day with concussion. It doesn’t help Caminiti at all at the MRO. It is the latest in a long line of concussions for Murphy. Not sure how that factors into the grading. Caminiti reacted to a push but clearly hit Murphy high @FOXFOOTYpic.twitter.com/CazN8JbubF

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) April 16, 2023

RSN’s AFL editor Mark Stevens wrote: “Caminiti heading for a holiday. Great start to year, silly act off ball late in game to attract scrutiny. Ticking all boxes now for straight to tribunal, 3 weeks plus.”

The off ball act adds to the downside of the Saints suffering their first loss on the season after going down by six-points in a nailbiter against the Pies.

St Kilda have started their season on fire despite dealing with a lengthy injury list, the loss of Caminiti only further hurts their forward stocks.

The Saints are set to tackle Carlton in a top four clash next Sunday at Marvel Stadium in what is a monster round for the AFL with Anzac Day on the agenda next Tuesday.

The match had a number of heated incidents including one moment when Ben Paton blatantly snubbed Jack Ginnivan’s hand as the Collingwood player was asking to be helped back to his feet.

Originally published as Anthony Caminiti facing lengthy ban after hitting Pies player off the ball