West Coast Eagles livewire Willie Rioli has successfully appealed his one-match suspension at the AFL tribunal, despite flooring Gold Coast Suns jet Matt Rowell in a sickening collision in round one.
The result has freed Rioli for West Coast’s clash with North Melbourne at Docklands Stadium on Sunday, with the tribunal deeming that the forward had not engaged in rough conduct and that his action was “not unreasonable”.
The hit was judged as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
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Luke D’Anello of The Age is among the many people astounded at the result of Rioli’s tribunal hearing.
“One round down and the AFL tribunal and match review panel have already confused plenty of supporters,” D’Anello wrote on Twitter.
“Willie Rioli should buy a lotto ticket.”
Nine sports reporter Mark Gottlieb wrote: “Absolutely staggering. So much for protecting players who keep their eyes on the ball … One player was going for a ‘screamer’ and it damn sure wasn’t Willie Rioli. The AFL should appeal this. I doubt they will, though”.
https://twitter.com/LukeDAnello/status/1506195569085411329https://twitter.com/MarkGottlieb/status/1506194448518369280
West Coast argued it was a “legitimate marking attempt” and that Rioli, who was making an AFL comeback after serving a two-year ban for doping, had not overstepped his duty of care to Rowell nor made high contact.
The jury, consisting of David Neitz, Shane Wakelin and tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson QC, believed Rioli had always intended to contest the footy, as opposed to bumping Rowell.
“Incidents such as this where the question revolves around whether and how the player is contesting the ball are not easy,” Gleeson said.
“Rioli had eyes for the ball as he entered the contest (and) there is no doubt he braced for contact a split second before contact.
“But when doing so he did not cease to contest the ball. The way in which he did so was not unreasonable.”
The jury’s ruling that Rioli had made high contact with Rowell no longer mattered when the rough conduct charge was banished.
“I believe my duty was to commit to the contest and help my team at any cost,” Rioli said when giving his evidence.
Among the arguments posed by AFL counsel Nick Pane QC was that Rowell’s ability to remain on the field after the incident was the result of “good fortune, not good management”.
Pane added that Rioli should have factored the vulnerability of the former No.1 draft pick in the contest.
Tuesday night at the tribunal also saw Adelaide captain Rory Sloane overturn his one-match suspension for making contact with the eye region of Fremantle midfielder Blake Acres.
The tribunal concluded that the Sloane incident was intentional conduct, low impact and high contact, meaning he’s available for Adelaide’s match against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.
Brisbane veteran Mitch Robinson wasn’t afforded the same fortune, having his one-match ban for making front-on contact upheld.
Robinson was wiped for a game after making contact with Port Adelaide young gun Xavier Duursma, who suffered a collarbone injury and is in doubt to feature in round two.
The Robinson incident was assessed as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
The former Blue will miss Brisbane’s game against Essendon at Docklands Stadium on Saturday.
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