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AFL MRO: Suns star, Roos skipper among five players charged

The Match Review Officer has handed down their findings from Saturday’s action.

Published by
Mitch Keating

A total of five players have come away from Saturday's Round 24 action with charges from the AFL's Match Review Officer, with Gold Coast defender Charlie Ballard having his hip pocket hit the hardest with a $8000 fine for rough conduct.

The third offence of its kind for Ballard this year, the Suns backman can have the high-priced sanction lowered to $5000 with an early plea.

The MRO graded Ballard's third-quarter incident on North Melbourne's Nick Larkey as intentional conduct, low impact and body contact, resulting in the financial penalty.

Ballard was one of four players to be charged by the MRO from Saturday's match between the Suns and Kangaroos, with Matt Rowell and Kayne Turner both coming away from a second-term scuffle with charges for engaging in a melee/wrestle.

The pair can accept $1000 fines - reduced from $1500 with early pleas.

An incident during the same quarter has also seen North Melbourne co-captain Jy Simpkin charged with rough conduct for an off-the-ball bump on Gold Coast's Noah Anderson.

The MRO graded Simpkin's actions as intentional conduct, low impact and body contact, resulting in a $2000 fine with an early plea.

Lastly, Hawthorn defender James Blanck has been hit with a $2500 fine for engaging in a melee/wrestle in his side's loss to Fremantle on Saturday.

The incident occurred during the third quarter of the game at the SCG and can be reduced to $1500 with an early plea.

Published by
Mitch Keating