Richmond defender Luke Trainor faces a stint on the sidelines after delivering a behind-the-play gut punch to West Coast’s Jack Williams in the second quarter of the clubs’ clash at the MCG on Sunday.
The two players were hanging onto each other before Trainor wound up and struck the Eagle with a clenched left fist.
The second-year Tiger, playing his 30th career game, instantly jogged away while Williams went to ground in obvious pain and went to the bench soon after.
It is the type of incident the AFL aimed to stamp out when it announced tribunal changes in February, revealing that incidents where a player strikes another in the chest or stomach were more likely to be graded medium impact and result in at least a one-game suspension.
Match review officer Michael Christian has typically graded these incidents as low impact, which led to fines rather than bans. Trainor’s gut punch was also an intentional action.
Richmond have a lengthy injury list that includes key defensive options Noah Balta, Josh Gibcus and Campbell Gray, so losing Trainor would present the Tigers with more challenges down back.
Adem Yze’s men have taken advantage of West Coast’s errant goalkicking to lead by 15 points at half-time, 7.4 (46) to 3.13 (31).
The Eagles are trying to beat Richmond at the MCG for the first time since 2015.
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