AFL NEWS: Sloane, Rioli get off but Robinson banned, Axe hovering over coach despite win, Aliir out

West Coast have used Nick Riewoldt’s iconic 2004 mark in their argument as they overturned Willie Rioli’s rough conduct ban at the AFL tribunal.

Rory Sloane’s testimony and his extensive history of eye and facial injuries also helped save the Adelaide captain from a one-week ban.

But at the end of a marathon tribunal session on Tuesday night, Brisbane hard nut Mitch Robinson was found guilty of forceful front-on contact and his one-game suspension stands.

While Rioli is free to play against North Melbourne and Sloane will take on Collingwood this weekend, Robinson will miss the Lions’ match against Essendon.

Rioli was facing a one-game ban for cannoning into Gold Coast young gun Matt Rowell as they contested a mark.

Rioli’s advocate David Grace QC used the example of Riewoldt, who fearlessly ran with the flight of the ball and collided with a group of players when he took his mark against Sydney at the SCG.

He said if Riewoldt had not taken the mark and collided with an opposition player, would that have meant the Saints legend was guilty of rough conduct? The tribunal deliberated for more than 30 minutes before deciding in Rioli’s favour.

The Eagles successfully argued Rioli was going for the mark before bracing for contact at the last moment and he was cleared even though they didn’t convince the tribunal the contact to Rowell was not high.

“Incidents such as this, where the question revolves whether and how the player is contesting the ball, are not easy,” Gleeson said.

“This tribunal will be astute to uphold any charge where a player was initially intending to contest the ball, but changed that intention and in doing so, breached his duty of care.

“That is not this case.”

Sloane successfully argued his charge of making contact to the eye region of Fremantle utility Blake Acres should be downgraded from intentional to careless.

That meant his penalty went from a one-game ban to a $2,000 fine.

Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson QC referred directly to Sloane’s evidence when explaining the jury’s verdict, saying they believed him.

The Crows acknowledged the incident was low impact and high contact, but were adamant it was not intentional.

In his evidence, Sloane detailed his own history of facial and eye injuries because of football, including a detached retina last year that had the potential to end his career.

“There’s no way I’d go after anyone’s eye because I’m very aware of the damage it can cause,” he said. “I was super close to being finished in football and close to losing my eyesight so there’s no way I’d go near anyone’s eye.”

But Brisbane failed to convince the tribunal that Robinson’s contact with Port Adelaide’s Xavier Duursma was reasonable. Duursma suffered a collarbone injury and is no certainty to play in round two.

“The risk to Duursma should have been obvious to Robinson, who could and should have avoided head and neck contact … he breached his duty of care,” Gleeson said.

St Kilda defender Dougal Howard is challenging his $3,000 fine for rough conduct against Collingwood ruck-forward Mason Cox with a written submission to the tribunal. Fremantle midfielder Caleb Serong (striking, $2,000), Gold Coast backman Will Powell (tripping, $1,000) and Essendon ruckman Sam Draper (striking, $2,000) accepted their penalties.

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Dew already on hot seat at Suns

Gold Coast’s Stuart Dew says he won’t let the prospect of being replaced by Alastair Clarkson as coach of the AFL club occupy his thoughts this year.

Four-time premiership mentor Clarkson has often been linked to the hot seat at the underperforming Suns since his departure from Hawthorn was confirmed mid-way through last season.

The 53-year-old is open to a coaching return in the future after taking this year off. But Dew, who played under Clarkson in the Hawks’ 2008 premiership team, is unmoved by the constant speculation.

He believes public backing from chairman Tony Cochrane and Suns players, including star midfielder Matt Rowell, is a strong indicator about his position at the club.

“Twelve months into my journey we made a decision to cut pretty deep on the list, and we knew there was gonna be some pain, but our players are really aware of the journey we’re on,” Dew told Fox Footy.

“We’re optimistic. They look around the locker room and the footy club and they see a future all together. It’s our club, it’s our story to write and I’m clearly part of that, so I back myself in. I can’t control what others say but I feel it every day when I go in the footy club. It’s not going to infiltrate my thinking. I’ve got to stay focused for the footy club and the players and that’s my intention.”

The Suns beat West Coast in Roud 1 and are aiming for two straight wins to start the season for the first time since 2018 – Dew’s first year at the helm. They host premiers Melbourne at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

Lucky he wasn’t KO’ed

Willie Rioli’s AFL comeback is set to be put back on hold after the West Coast forward was offered a one-match suspension for his bump on Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell.

Rioli returned for the Eagles in round one after serving a two-year ban for doping violations and sparked an emotional celebration when he kicked a booming third-quarter goal.

But Rioli was also involved in a heavy clash with Rowell later in the term as the Suns star reached for a mark.

Rioli left the ground and was a fraction late to the contest, leaving Rowell sore from a collision that was graded careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.

Rowell was not awarded a free kick for the contact and later described it as “fair play, good hit” in a media interview after the Suns’ 27-point victory.

But past greats Jason Dunstall, Nick Riewoldt and Garry Lyon are among the expert commentators who have called for Rioli to be hit with a heavier penalty.

“It’s so lucky that (Rowell) wasn’t KO’d,” Hawthorn champion Dunstall told Fox Footy.

“(Rioli) doesn’t try to mark the ball at all but he jumps and the hip goes into the head. That’s dangerous and I personally would’ve gone with a heavier suspension than that.”

Aliir Aliir (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Aliir hobbled with ankle injury

All-Australian defender Aliir Aliir is set to miss a significant portion of Port Adelaide’s season after undergoing syndesmosis surgery.

There is better news for Power teammates Trent McKenzie (knee) and Xavier Duursma (collarbone), who were among those hurt during the round-one defeat to Brisbane.

According to assistant coach Nathan Bassett, McKenzie and Duursma are considered chances to take on Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

But Aliir’s ankle injury and subsequent surgery will likely sideline him for at least two months, with Bassett hinting former Lions and SANFL defender Sam Skinner could fill the void in defence.

var request = new XMLHttpRequest();

request.open('POST', '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', true); request.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded;'); request.onload = function () { if (this.status >= 200 && this.status