rizzo
Brownlow Medallist
- Sep 11, 2003
- 14,342
- 1,037
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- Everton, Melbourne Heart, Raptors
NORTH SHORE junior Ricky Rose-Mooring was suspended for eight matches on a kicking charge by the Football Geelong tribunal last night.
The under-16 forward pleaded guilty to kicking Inverleigh forward David McGregor in the head during the third quarter of Saturday's match at North Shore.
Have your say on the feedback form below
Rose-Mooring told the tribunal of Geoff Stribley (chairman), Ray Gurrie and Phil Swindells that he "snapped" after McGregor and some of his friends in the crowd had criticised his play throughout the match.
Rose-Mooring, who is a second year player, said McGregor taunted him in the third quarter after he kicked the ball out on the full.
The pair then began pushing each other in the Melbourne-end goal square at the North Shore grounds, behind play.
The tribunal heard Rose-Mooring punched his opponent twice in the face before McGregor dropped to all fours to avoid an expected punch.
A witness said both players threw punches but McGregor denied he had.
Rose-Mooring said he expected McGregor, who was physically larger than him, would respond so he kicked him in the head.
"My feet were near his shoulders, I was trying to push him away and kicked him a bit. I thought it was on the top of the head. It wasn't a full-blown kick, he got up straight away," Rose-Mooring said.
The reporting umpire Darren Bubb noticed the incident after he heard the crowd shouting.
Bubb, who was about 45m away, described the contact as a "jabbing action" and rated the ferocity of the strike at 35-40 per cent.
McGregor, whose mouth was bleeding from being punched, left the field immediately after the incident and returned in the final quarter.
Rose-Mooring apologised to his Inverleigh opponent during the hearing.
Stribley acknowledged the Year 11 student's guilty plea and honesty during the proceeding.
He advised the teenager to ignore taunts in the future and manage his anger.
"This is a very, very serious charge. You've got a label that is going to last your career," Stribley said.
North Shore advocate Bob Jane said Rose-Mooring would learn from the experience.
"It is one of the worst things you can do in footy and we just hope that he can recover from this and be the footballer we know he can be. We'll be taking steps to make sure we give him all the support and encouragement to practise on his footy," Jane said.
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/04/21/64285_geelong_sports.html
For those wondering...