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Dustin Martin cops two-week ban for hit on Adam Kennedy

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8th April, 2019
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The Richmond Tigers have lost Dustin Martin for the next two weeks after AFL Match Review Officer Michael Christian announced the 2017 Brownlow Medallist had been offered a two-game suspension for elbowing Adam Kennedy off the ball in Saturday’s match against Greater Western Sydney at Giants Stadium.

In explaining the suspension, the AFL said the incident was assessed as intentional conduct with medium impact and high contact, warranting the two-game ban.

Martin was also fined $1500 for striking GWS tagger Matt de Boer but – so far – has not been handed a penalty of any kind for the controversial gestures he made during the game. He could yet face punishment for those incidents. Similar behaviour has previously seen the AFL give him a suspended $2000 fine for gesturing in September 2013.

If Martin accepts his sanction for the elbow on Kennedy, the suspension will see him miss matches against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval next week and then the Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium in Round 5, potentially leaving the Tigers to field a team without any of their ‘fab four’.

Key bookends Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt are both certain to be unavailable, Rance on the sidelines for the rest of the year due to an ACL injury suffered against Carlton in Round 1, and Riewoldt expected to miss at least three more weeks with a broken wrist.

What’s unclear for the moment is whether or not they’ll have the services of premiership skipper Trent Cotchin after he suffered a hamstring injury during the second quarter of Saturday’s 49-point loss to GWS. Cotchin didn’t return to the field in the second half.

The loss left the Tigers at a 1-2 record after three rounds and they’ll have fears that could blow out to 1-4 if their four biggest stars are all forced to watch from the stands, potentially derailing their hopes of securing a second premiership in three years.

Port Adelaide players Scott Lycett and Zak Butters were given financial penalties for incidents in the Power’s 16-point loss to the Brisbane Lions. No other players were fined or banned for any other incidents arising from Round 3.

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