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Giants accept Greene ban

Greater Western Sydney’s Toby Greene has accepted a two-match AFL ban for striking Western Bulldogs midfielder Caleb Daniel.

May 02, 2017, updated May 02, 2017
Toby Greene of the Giants has been banned for striking Bulldog Caleb Daniel on Friday night. Photo: Lukas Coch / AAP

Toby Greene of the Giants has been banned for striking Bulldog Caleb Daniel on Friday night. Photo: Lukas Coch / AAP

Daniel left the field in the third quarter at Manuka Oval on Friday night with blood coming from his mouth after Greene caught him high with a round-arm left fist.

The match review panel assessed the incident as intentional conduct with medium impact to the head.

All-Australian forward Greene, who is equal-second in the Coleman Medal tally with 20 goals, risked copping a three-game ban if he had made an unsuccessful challenge before the tribunal.

He will miss the second-placed Giants’ games against St Kilda on Friday night and Collingwood in round eight.

A field umpire’s comments to Greene added an extra layer of intrigue as the umpire in question was overheard on the Seven Network’s broadcast telling the 23-year-old he’d been warned he had been close to the edge for two weeks.

The MRP threw out a head-butting charge against Greene last week, while the week before he was fined for striking.

Giants coach Leon Cameron expressed disappointment that umpires could have pre-conceived ideas about AFL players, describing Greene as a “really good kid”.

GWS football chief Wayne Campbell contacted the AFL umpiring department to clear the air on that front over the weekend and Cameron said he is satisfied with the outcome.

“I don’t want him to lose that competitiveness,” Cameron said of Greene last night.

“He’s just got to make sure he controls those really sticky situations when they come around.”

GWS defender Adam Kennedy praised the feisty forward’s resilience and backed him to come back stronger and better from his suspension.

“He’s been through some tough times, but credit to him he comes back even stronger and better and again that’s something he’ll do this time around,” Kennedy said.

Also today, Richmond opted not to challenge ruckman Toby Nankervis’s one-match ban for striking David Mackay with his elbow in their humbling loss to league-leaders Adelaide.

The Tigers, fresh from their first defeat of the season, will be without Nankervis – a key player in their 5-1 start to the year – for Saturday night’s big match against the Western Bulldogs.

-AAP

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