By Andrew Wu, Marnie Vinall and Jon Pierik
In today’s AFL briefing, your wrap of football news:
- Police have charged a man after he allegedly threw a bottle at a goal umpire during an AFL match between Carlton and St Kilda.
- Carlton could suddenly be blessed with an embarrassment of riches at the selection table ahead of their elimination final.
- Former Australian Test star Damien Fleming is watching his daughter live out one of his dreams.
Demons star fails to overturn AFL ban for bump
AAP
Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett will miss the first three games of the 2025 AFL season after failing to overturn a three-match suspension for a bump on Collingwood’s Darcy Moore.
In a marathon hearing on Tuesday evening, Pickett and Melbourne’s lawyer Adrian Anderson were unable to convince the Tribunal to overturn his rough conduct charge.
The challenge during the Demons’ 46-point defeat on Friday night, which forced the Magpies captain from the field with concussion, was judged to be careless conduct, severe impact and high contact by the match review officer.
After hearing more than two hours’ worth of arguments, the Tribunal deliberated for another 50 minutes before delivering their verdict.
“We are required to consider whether there was unreasonable conduct that was likely to cause injury,” said Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson.
“We find that there was.”
With the Demons missing out on finals following their 14th-placed finish, Pickett’s suspension will carry over until next year.
Pickett apologised to Moore for the injury and said he did not expect him to go to ground so quickly.
“My intention was to protect space by taking Darcy off the line and win the ball in front of me,” he said.
“This is the normal way I’ve contested the ball and made a play on the ball in other games.”
Anderson argued Pickett was not guilty because he was reasonably contesting the ball, was not likely to cause injury when he decided to bump and he couldn’t have foreseen Moore dropping his knees in the challenge, which resulted in the high contact.
AFL lawyer Sally Flynn said footage showed Pickett ran past the ball and chose to bump Moore instead of attempting to regather the ball.
“It was not reasonable to elect to bump at any stage of what happened - not at the start, and certainly not after Mr Moore has himself tried to gather the ball,” said Flynn.
Flynn said the conduct was clearly likely to cause injury, as evidenced by the fact Moore did suffer a concussion.
It’s not the first time Pickett’s bumping has got him into trouble.
Pickett missed Melbourne’s first game of this season after being banned for a high bump on Patrick Cripps in last year’s semi-final loss to Carlton.
He also received a one-match ban for a bump on Adelaide’s Jake Soligo in Gather Round.
Police charge man who allegedly threw bottle at goal umpire
Jon Pierik
Police have charged a man after he allegedly threw a bottle at a goal umpire during an AFL match between Carlton and St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Investigators identified a 23-year-old Northcote man, who was interviewed at a police station by appointment on Tuesday.
He was subsequently charged with recklessly causing injury, discharging a missile, and unlawful assault, having dashed from the game on Sunday.
Umpire Steven Piperno, who had his back to supporters, was struck by the bottle. He suffered a cut to the back of the head. Piperno left the field and was replaced by a reserve. He was treated at the stadium for minor injuries, and spent the rest of the match on the interchange bench.
Police and security used CCTV and broadcast vision to identify the man, who has been bailed to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on November 1.
He was sitting near the Carlton cheer squad but was not a member of that group.
The man now faces a life ban by the AFL, with the game’s governing body regarding umpires as sacrosanct at a time when it’s never been harder to attract umpires to the sport. An AFL spokesman said the league would discuss the issue on Wednesday.
Carlton coach Michael Voss made his feeling clear when asked about the incident on Sunday.
“We don’t tolerate that – that’s not what footy is about,” Voss said.
The major selection headaches facing Michael Voss
Andrew Wu
Carlton’s long list of injured stars pushing for a finals recall has thrown a curveball in inspirational veteran Sam Docherty’s quest for a stunning September comeback.
As many as eight first-choice Blues, including twin towers Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay, are in the running to return for the club’s elimination final against the Lions, leaving coach Michael Voss with a major selection headache just days after struggling to field a side due to mass injuries.
Sam Docherty is pushing for a remarkable return for the finals.Credit: Jason South
The injury crisis is easing at Ikon Park but Voss and his match committee now face the issue of working out how many of their injured guns they can bring back at the same time.
While the Blues will wait until next week to release an update on their injury list, Curnow (ankle), McKay (quadriceps), Zac Williams (hamstring), Mitch McGovern (hamstring) and Jack Martin (hamstring) are considered the best chances to come back, based on timelines issued last week.
McKay said he was on track to return to face the Lions.
“I’m feeling really good,” he said on the Ben and Harry Podcast.
“I had a couple of really good sessions last week and was pretty close to being available last week.
“[I’ve] still [got] two weeks of training to get through and a couple of things to tick off still. We’ll see how it all plays out – it’s all tracking well.”
Ruck Tom De Koning (lung and foot) and Adam Cerra (hamstring) remain in contention despite the club not having stated an estimated return date since their injuries.
But a return for Docherty would be the most stunning of all, just six months after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in the opening round. Most players usually take about 12 months to return from such an injury.
Docherty has three to four searching sessions ahead on the training track to convince Voss he is ready to play in a final, having not played at any level since his injury.
Complicating matters for Voss is the large number of players potentially coming back and how it affects team balance, the team dynamic and the side’s ability to run out the game.
The Blues will also need to factor in the likelihood of players with histories of soft-tissue injuries breaking down again.
Voss last week tempered expectations of a fairytale finals return for Docherty.
“I couldn’t sit here and say what that looks like right now. I really can’t, because there’s just so many variables that come into that,” Voss said, on the eve of the Blues’ round 24 clash with St Kilda.
“We’ve got to reintroduce guys back into the team that have been out for long periods of time. There’s just so many factors that go into that decision, and we’ll make sure that everyone knows that all those variables will be considered very, very seriously. It won’t be just sort of something that we roll out.
“He’s [Docherty] been part of the lengthy rehab program, and we need to respect that. But all those sort of risks, if you want to call it, will be managed both for him and the team, and we’ll go from there.”
The return of Coleman medallists Curnow and McKay would significantly strengthen the Blues, who fielded a makeshift forward line in the final two rounds with Brodie Kemp as the unlikely focal point, supported by midfielder Matt Kennedy and a host of small forwards.
The severely undermanned Blues were just seconds away from pulling off a remarkable victory against the Saints on Sunday at Marvel Stadium, losing in heartbreaking fashion, only for Port Adelaide to save their season by beating Fremantle on the other side of the country a few hours later.
‘Wasn’t able to do it, myself’: Ex-cricketer in awe of AFLW star daughter
Marnie Vinall
Damien Fleming may have had a successful cricket career, but at 19, his daughter Jasmine is already living one of his great sporting dreams.
A star swing bowler who played 20 Tests and 88 ODIs for Australia, Damien is also a Hawthorn tragic.
Jasmine and Damien Fleming at Hawthorn on Tuesday.Credit: Simon Schluter
“To see Jas run around in Hawthorn colours; [I] wasn’t able to do it myself, but it’s absolutely brilliant,” he said.
Jasmine’s resume is already impressive, though she is about to embark on just her third season with the Hawks after being taken with pick No.2 in the 2022 draft.
She was given the vice-captaincy last year at just 18 and has finished third in the club best and fairest in both her seasons at the Hawks so far.
She was a prized selection with strong sporting lineage: Her mother, Wendy, is a former elite netballer and uncle, Gary O’Donnell, a former Essendon skipper, played 243 games for the Bombers from 1987-98. Her aunt, Shelley O’Donnell, is also a former elite netballer with 84 caps for the national team.
She chose to focus her attention on her football career late in her teens, but admits her cricket background reveals itself sometimes, including her skill at collecting ground balls.
“I was a pretty good fielder more than anything in my cricketing days, so that’s probably helped a bit,” she said.
Jasmine and Damien shared some kicks at Hawthorn’s “Father’s Day” training session at Waverley Park on Tuesday, with Jasmine praising her father’s “good reverse torp” in the windy conditions. It was a celebration and acknowledgement of the role of family in footballing careers ahead of the Hawks’ season opener against Carlton on Sunday afternoon at Frankston’s Kinetic Stadium.
Louise Stephenson’s dad, Mark, celebrates at father-daughter training on Tuesday.Credit: Simon Schluter
“Up until 10 years ago, it really wasn’t a goal for daughters [to be able to play professional football]. But also, you know, [for] the fathers as well, being able to watch their daughters play AFL at the top level,” Damien said.
Damien joked his daughter didn’t get her pace from his side of the family: “What I love about watching Jas play is her speed because I didn’t have any. So her mum, Wendy’s, in her speed.”
The cherry on top, for both Jasmine and Damien, is that the family grew up passionate Hawthorn fans.
“It’s brainwashing from a very young age. I’m not going to lie to you, the [Hawthorn] three-peat helped ... Jas got to all three [grand finals]. Her brother Brayden got to all three,” said Damien, tongue-in-cheek, who added Wendy grew up a Hawthorn supporter and was easily added back into the fold.
Jasmine said Hawthorn would look different this year under new coach Dan Webster, who took over from the team’s inaugural coach Bec Goddard. They also have the added experience in the off-season of former Melbourne players Eliza West and Casey Sherriff.
Jasmine played minutes on the wing against Sydney in a pre-season practice match, but expects to play a few different roles as the side build in their third season.
“Obviously, new coach, new game plan. I think I’m able to I think I am pretty versatile, so I probably can play different roles,” said Jasmine. “I’m honestly happy to play wherever the team needs me.”
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