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Hawthorn captain James Sicily and Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell will appeal their respective three-match AFL suspensions over incidents that left opponents concussed.
Amid uproar over the league’s ongoing crackdown on dangerous tackles, rugged defender Sicily was banned for the tackle that knocked out Brisbane Lions midfielder Hugh McCluggage.
The match review officer’s initial grading of careless conduct, severe impact and high contact was upheld by the tribunal on Tuesday night.
Sicily argued his conduct wasn’t careless, claiming he’d targeted McCluggage’s hips and that he was following the league’s advice to try to have his opponent land on top of him to soften his fall.
Sicily said contact from Hawks teammate Tyler Brockman on McCluggage during the incident prevented the Lions midfielder from being able to brace himself with his free arm.
The tribunal did not accept Brockman’s involvement caused an otherwise safe tackle to be dangerous.
Former Hawthorn and Brisbane champion Luke Hodge led a chorus of past players in the media arguing the tribunal “got it wrong”.
“As soon as there’s a third person (Brockman) that comes into play in the tackle, you can’t throw the book at this,” Hodge told SEN on Wednesday.
“You look at (Nathan) Broad from Richmond, who did the big dump tackle and knocked a kid (Adelaide’s Patrick Parnell) out on the boundary line, he got four weeks and Sicily got three for this.
“It just doesn’t seem right in my mind.”
Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley tweeted that Jack Ziebell was criticised for not going at the ball or tackling an opposition player in a head-on contest on the weekend while James Sicily “wins a HTB free for what the commentator described as a great tackle. 3 weeks. This is the modern game.”
Late on Wednesday, both Hawthorn and Richmond confirmed they will appeal their players’ bans.
Mansell was charged with rough conduct over the high bump that concussed Fremantle’s James Aish.
It was graded as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
The Dockers fear Aish could miss more than one match after he was placed into concussion protocols following the incident.
“As a (past) player I feel for him because he did the right thing and because of the bounce of an oval ball, it made him hesitate,” Hodge said of Mansell.
“I’m sitting here going is three weeks fair for that? That’s probably a bit harsh in my books.”
Melbourne defender Christian Salem accepted a $3000 penalty for striking Collingwood’s Harvey Harrison.
On Tuesday, St Kilda forward Dan Butler successfully overturned a one-match ban for rough conduct on Sydney’s Nick Blakey.
Butler is free to play his former club Richmond on Saturday night.
Collingwood veteran Scott Pendlebury will play on next year, while coach Craig McRae has signed a contract extension to the end of the 2026 AFL season.
The 35-year-old Pendlebury will continue for a 19th season in 2024, putting the Magpies great in sight of his 400th AFL game. Only five VFL/AFL players have reached that milestone.
Pendlebury has played 370 games, a club record, and could join Brent Harvey (432 games), Michael Tuck (426), Shaun Burgoyne (407), Kevin Bartlett (403) and Dustin Fletcher (400) in the exclusive club.
“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of this club for one more year at least,” Pendlebury said in a statement on Wednesday. “I have completely bought in to what ‘Fly’ (McRae) and the coaches have created and I am loving it.
“Being a one-club player was one thing, something I am proud of, but my main motivation is to do all I can to assist the coaching group to develop our squad.
“As a collective we are loving our football and have an appetite to just getting better and succeeding which really excites me.”
Last year, McRae – in his debut season as Magpies coach – took the club to a preliminary final in which they were one-point losers to Sydney.
This season, Collingwood are premiership favourites and top the ladder with 11 wins and two losses.
“Leading this team and being a part of this great club is something I am incredibly grateful for and I look forward to continuing on this journey,” McRae, a former assistant at Richmond and Brisbane, said.
“In my 16 years of coaching I haven’t seen a group quite like this one, there is an incredible fight and real belief but above all there is a genuine support and care for each other.
“It is not lost on me that I have a key role to play at this club but so too does every player and member of staff. We are committed to getting better together.”
Collingwood’s football manager Graham Wright said the re-signings were a show of faith.
“Craig and Scott … have both been instrumental to the development of our football program,”‘ Wright said. “There is stability with ‘Fly’ as the senior coach for another three terms and Scott as a key leader of the side for at least another season.
“The commitment from both men today speaks volumes for the future of this football program.”
Geelong are set to welcome back their “A-grade” stars, headlined by captain Patrick Dangerfield for their blockbuster clash with red-hot Port Adelaide.
The Cats will front up at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night with Dangerfield due to return alongside Mitch Duncan, Max Holmes and Jack Bowes.
Dangerfield has not played since being subbed out of Geelong’s round-eight win against Adelaide with a hamstring injury.
The Cats have taken a cautious approach with their star midfielder, as they did successfully ahead of last year’s run to the grand final.
“My take is (Dangerfield) could have played (before the bye) and I still stand by that now and I only really bring that up to make a point of how confident we are that he can come back in and play well this game,” Cats coach Chris Scott told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to get something like our A-grade contingent back, we think we are well placed to more than break even with those guys in the midfield so then it becomes a matter of who can use the ball effectively going forward.
“The guys we are bringing back are a little bit more spread across the ground and we have been thinking about how we reintroduce them over the past month so we are more confident about how seamless this will be than some other situations.”
Geelong snapped a three-game losing streak two weeks ago when they defeated the Western Bulldogs in a hard-fought contest at Marvel Stadium.
The reigning premiers (6-6) sit ninth but will jump back inside the top-eight if they can end Port’s club-record 10-game winning streak.
Defender Oisin Mullin will miss the clash with the Power due to an adductor injury.
with AAP
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