Fiora cops a week
11/08/2008 4:13 PM
Experienced St Kilda wingman Aaron Fiora has been hit with a one match suspension for his off-the-ball tangle with Collingwood first gamer John McCarthy.
Fiora was the only player charged by the match review panel from round 19 but his possible absence from Sunday's must win game against Fremantle in Perth is yet another concern for Saints' coach Ross Lyon, who is already without his premier on-baller Luke Ball due to a hamstring injury.
The Saints' loss to Collingwood has seen them slump to eighth spot on the ladder and if they are beaten in Perth this week - where they suffered a shock loss to West Coast in round 17 - they would drop from the top eight if either Brisbane beats the Western Bulldogs or Carlton beats the Kangaroos.
Fiora, who has played 139 games since debuting with Richmond in 2000, was hit with a level two striking offence for what appeared to be a punch to the stomach with the panel ruling his actions as intentional conduct, low impact and body contact.
This resulted in Fiora receiving 125 points but that rose to 170 because of his previous record, meaning he can accept 127.5 points and a one match ban with an early plea.
But if he challenges the verdict at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night, he is still only facing a one match ban.
In a rare quiet week for the match review panel, just two other incidents were looked at but Melbourne's Lynden Dunn and the Bulldogs' Robert Murphy were cleared of any wrongdoing over incidents involving Geelong's Steve Johnson and North Melbourne's Brady Rawlings respectively.