Geelong Advertiser |
BELMONT young gun Heath Walsh has been slapped with a three-match suspension for a headbutt that left North Geelong’s PJ DiSanto with a blood nose on Saturday.
Walsh pleaded guilty to the misconduct charge on Monday night, yet still tried to argue that contact to DiSanto’s face was accidental after being outnumbered and “intimidated” in a scuffle.
But the AFL Barwon tribunal night came down hard on the emerging playmaker, punishing him for actions chairman Dennis Gilmore said had the potential to cause serious injury.
“Headbutting someone, given the right angle and the right amount of force, can break a bone and stick it in the brain,” Gilmore said.
“You understand what I’m saying? It’s a dangerous move, one that this tribunal doesn’t think very much of and for that reason we’ve decided to suspend you for three playing matches.”
The incident happened during the final quarter of the Magpies’ demolition job of Belmont in their GDFL senior match at the weekend.
DiSanto came in to remonstrate after Walsh gave away a down-the-ground free kick for a late bump to the back of Magpies player Brent Schwennesen.
Walsh, one of the smallest and younger players in his side, said he felt threatened after being outnumbered and surrounded by “two or three” larger North Geelong players.
He told the tribunal he feigned a headbutt motion in an attempt to stand up for himself and never intended to make any contact, despite admitting he was only inches from DiSanto’s face when he thrust his head forward.
“I had two guys on me, I felt intimidated, so I’m not going to let two guys stand over me,” Walsh said.
“When I said ‘I went forward’, I guess I was trying to intimidate them back and I accidentally went a bit far and I got him in the nose.
“It was a quick one. I was supposed to fake it, just to intimidate him and I accidentally got him. It was maybe a five out of 10 (on the impact scale).
“I’m not a dirty player. There were two guys tussling with me when I never intended to hurt (Schwennesen) with that bump. I was trying to do it fairly, it was obviously a bit too late but I’m not going to let somebody stand over me.
“I never intentionally tried to get (DiSanto). It must have been a brain fade. It just happened. I don’t like to feel intimidated.”
Walsh was yellow-carded for the incident and was then reported, while DiSanto left the field under the blood rule.
There was no footage of the incident.
The tribunal heard that the height difference between Walsh and DiSanto was about 15cm (the players were at one stage asked to stand up alongside each other) and that contact was made by Walsh’s forehead to DiSanto’s nose.
Reporting umpire Adam Jones argued that the force of the headbutt was a 9.5 out of 10, which was followed immediately by a clearly audible cough from Belmont advocate Scott Fort.
“Sorry about that,” Fort said, prompting a member of the tribunal panel to ask for “a little bit of decorum”.
Jones, who was only metres from the incident, told the tribunal DiSanto had blood “gushing” from his nose.
DiSanto later said he believed the force was about six out of 10, but admitted he had never been headbutted before.
Fort told the tribunal Walsh was a player of strong character who had returned to the club this year after coming runner-up in the Colts league best and fairest while playing for Grovedale last year.
“Contact was made, there’s no sugar-coating that, but we think it was more negligent and couldn’t possibly have been forceful from three or four inches,” Fort said.
