Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper will miss the first four games of the season after his lawyer accused the AFL of making a “scapegoat” of the Power forward.
Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper will miss the first four games of the AFL season after a tribunal ruling. Photo supplied
Powell-Pepper was referred to appear before the tribunal after his high bump concussed Adelaide defender Mark Keane during the first quarter of last Friday’s Showdown match simulation.
The 26-year-old immediately pleaded guilty to the rough conduct charge, but Port’s lawyer Ben Krupka argued Powell-Pepper should miss three matches instead of the four-game sanction sought by the AFL.
The tribunal deliberated for more than 90 minutes before considering Powell-Pepper’s conduct “very reckless”, completing a marathon three-and-a-half-hour hearing.
In his closing remarks before the tribunal deliberated, Krupka warned the panel it had to treat this case the same as if it was a “Brownlow Medal favourite” or “someone about to play in a grand final”.“What is not legitimate is to make a scapegoat of Mr Powell-Pepper in this instance,” Krupka said.
