Tribunal outs Bowden for 1 game
Len Johnson
The Age
July 19, 2006
JOEL Bowden will miss Richmond's match against Sydney this week after the AFL Tribunal last night upheld the match review panel's assessment of a striking charge against Melbourne's Daniel Ward.
The Tigers were unsuccessful in arguing that the conduct and impact were of a lower category than the panel decided and also that Bowden's good character, unblemished record and desire to be a 300-game player for the Tigers with a clean record was not sufficient to constitute the exceptional and compelling circumstances required to impose a lesser penalty.
The panel — former players Emmett Dunne, Michael Sexton and David Pittman — deliberated for 10 minutes before finding that Bowden had been reckless, not negligent, in making contact with Ward and the impact, which left the Demon player with a cut that required five stitches, was medium, not low.
Asked what weight they gave the argument on character, Dunne told the chairman it was not "to the extent to sway us from the original findings".
Bowden was charged with striking Ward as the Melbourne player marked a kick-in late in the final quarter of the game.
His arm was straight, as if to spoil, but glancing contact between his thumb knuckle and Ward's left eyebrow inflicted a laceration that bled immediately.
Ward left the ground, but was told by the field umpire that he saw the contact as within the contest and not incurring a 50-metre penalty.
A fine for wrestling during a 1997 pre-season competition game is the only blemish on Bowden's career, which includes 206 games for Richmond and the past two best-and-fairest trophies. He was an All-Australian in 2005, is a vice-president of the AFL Players Association and has been nominated by the Tigers for an AFL Community Award for his voluntary work with homeless children and within the indigenous community.
Bowden was "a man of great character and integrity", former Richmond player Mervyn Keane told the tribunal, and a footballer who had "demonstrated a great sense of fair play".
Bowden's advocate, Michael Tovey, also submitted that the tribunal should regard his status as a positive community role model as "exceptional and compelling circumstances".
He said the Tigers were nominating Bowden for the AFL's community award, as he dedicated regular time to working with underprivileged children and, together with Collingwood's Paul Licuria, was establishing an AFL player group to help the drug-addicted and homeless.
But the panel accepted tribunal legal counsel Will Houghton's contention that there were "abundant reasons" to agree with the review panel's assessment and, despite the significant time it took considering Richmond's submissions, decided not to use its discretion to vary the penalty.
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/07/18/1153166383536.html
