Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper suspended for four games for hit on Adelaide’s Mark Keane
It took more than an hour of deliberations, but the first ugly hit of 2024 has been heavily sanctioned by the AFL tribunal.
AFL
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Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper has been handed a four-match suspension by the AFL tribunal after a marathon deliberation and despite a declaration from a biomechanist that the hit that concussed Adelaide’s Mark Keane was in line with a “tackle pattern” rather than a bump.
It’s a win for the AFL, which was unsuccessful throughout 2023 in pushing for four-match bans for high hits, and comes a week after Melbourne premiership star Angus Brayshaw was forced to medically retire due to a spate of concussions and with the league now the sole focus of a united class action involving 100 players battling the effects of concussion.
The verdict came after a lengthy deliberation of close to two hours by the tribunal panel which concluded Powell-Pepper “did not take any steps to avoid the contact that ultimately occurred”.
Powell-Pepper was sent straight to the tribunal for the bump in last Friday’s match simulation with Adelaide that resulted in the Crows defender being heavily concussed and unable to return to the game.
Sam Powell-Pepper has been sent to the Tribunal for rough conduct.
— AFL (@AFL) February 26, 2024
Details: https://t.co/7aSqwyhDw3pic.twitter.com/GH9su2L0rl
The Port star was cited for rough conduct and pleaded guilty in his hearing on Wednesday morning and was adamant that his “sole intention was to tackle”, with biomechanist Kate Shorter trying to make that case for him.
While the AFL pushed for a four-match ban, Powell-Pepper’s representative in the hearing wanted only three, suggesting the 26-year-old should not be made a “scapegoat” by “applying a penalty out of proportion to his culpability”.
But in line with the match review officer classifying the contact as careless, high and of severe impact, Powell-Pepper was handed the hefty ban in an early season statement by the tribunal.
“We do not accept that the conduct involved minimal culpability,” Tribunal chair Renee Enbom explained.
“Powell-Pepper ran to Keane, who was in the process of being tackled. We accept he was seeking to assist with the tackle. We don’t accept Keane moved in such a way when being tackled by Rioli that Powell-Pepper could not have reasonably anticipated the movement.
“As contact was about to occur, Powell-Pepper altered the position of his right shoulder and with his right arm tucked in made heavy and high contact with Keane.
“Even if the shoulder movement was a reflex action, that fact does not mean that the conduct as a whole involved minimal capability.
“We consider Powell-Pepper’s conduct to have been very careless.”
Last season, the AFL asked for four-week suspensions for several high bumps, but the players only received three weeks. The only four-week ban handed out was to Richmond’s Nathan Broad for a sling tackle.
The AFL made an amendment to the tribunal rules for 2024 in a bid for more high hits like Powell Pepper’s to earn heavy suspensions, giving the tribunal “discretion to impose a different classification and/or sanction than may have been imposed in previous years, having regard to (among other things) evolving community standards and an increased focus on reducing instances of avoidable, forceful high contact and preventing injuries (including concussions)”.
Powell-Pepper’s hit was called out by several AFL pundits, with two-time premiership winner David King calling for a “severe penalty” given the focus on concussions.
On Monday at the AFL captains’ day, Powell-Pepper’s Port Adelaide skipper Connor Rozee said the high bump wasn’t the way Powell-Pepper played.
Rozee said Powell-Pepper had expressed his remorse and reached out to Keane.
“He was a bit rattled, to be honest, after the game,” Rozee said.
“He’s not that sort of person to go headhunting for people. So I know he sent a message to Mark after the game.
“I know he’s pretty frustrated that obviously things look like he’s gonna miss a couple of weeks. He’s little bit rattled and just trying to support him after the game and help him through.”
Powell-Pepper will be eligible to return in round 5 against Fremantle.
Originally published as Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper suspended for four games for hit on Adelaide’s Mark Keane
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