Analysis A look back at the longest suspensions in AFL football.

[Aristotle Pickett]

An interesting list headed by Stephen Dank's life ban.
In the future will deliberate concussions be worth 20 weeks?
Quite possibly imo.

Suspensions​

VFL/AFL records​

Longest suspension
Qualification - 20 matches

Player / Administrator	Charges	Season	Matches suspended	Club	Notes
Stephen Dank	34 x Doping	2016	Life	Essendon	[22]
Doug Fraser	Bribery	1910	99	Carlton
Alex Lang	Bribery	1910	99	Carlton
Fred Rutley	2 × kicking, 3 × striking and melee involvement	1925	89	North Melbourne	1
Bill Burns	Kicking	1909	46	Richmond	1
George Topping	Striking	1910	35	Carlton
Bert Franks	Abusing and threatening an umpire	1910	33	South Melbourne	1
Tommy Downs	Kicking	1931	29	Carlton
Percy Sheehan	Striking and melee involvement	1910	28	Carlton
Jack Shorten	Striking and melee involvement	1910	28	Collingwood
Elijah Taylor	Breach of AFL COVID protocols and bringing the game into disrepute	2020 and 2021	28	Sydney/none	2
Arthur Coghlan	Striking and melee involvement	1925	26	Geelong
Stan Thomas	Elbowing, striking and melee involvement	1925	26	Geelong
Dan Keily	Sustained abuse of umpire	1917	24

Arthur Ford	Abusing and threatening umpire	1910	23	Carlton
Wally Warden	Kicking	1928	22	Footscray
Ben Cousins	Bringing the game into disrepute	2007	22	none	3
Jaidyn Stephenson	Gambling on AFL matches	2019	22	Collingwood	4
Tom Baxter	Striking and melee involvement	1910	21	Collingwood	5
Ted Whitfield	Attempting to strike an umpire, abusing an umpire and 2 × misconduct	1945	21	South Melbourne
Dick Condon	Sustained abuse of umpire	1900	20	Collingwood	1
Billy Gent	3 × Striking	1904	20	South Melbourne
George Holden	Striking	1911	20	Fitzroy
Peter Reville	3 × Striking	1934	20	South Melbourne
Phil Carman	Striking and headbutting umpire	1980	20	Essendon
Chris Appleton	Gambling on AFL matches	2010	20	Goal umpire
Wayne Siekman	Gambling on AFL matches	2010	20	Interchange steward
John Wise	Gambling on AFL matches	2010	20	Interchange

 

[BigPond101]

Wow Jaidyn Stephensen was suspended for 22 matches ? ? I don't remember that... thought it was like 4 or 5... That explains his career going down the drain from how good he looked when the Pies made the GF

 

[Moonatic77]

An interesting list headed by Stephen Dank's life ban.
In the future will deliberate concussions be worth 20 weeks?
Quite possibly imo.

Suspensions​

VFL/AFL records​

Longest suspension
Qualification - 20 matches

Player / Administrator	Charges	Season	Matches suspended	Club	Notes
Stephen Dank	34 x Doping	2016	Life	Essendon	[22]
Doug Fraser	Bribery	1910	99	Carlton
Alex Lang	Bribery	1910	99	Carlton
Fred Rutley	2 × kicking, 3 × striking and melee involvement	1925	89	North Melbourne	1
Bill Burns	Kicking	1909	46	Richmond	1
George Topping	Striking	1910	35	Carlton
Bert Franks	Abusing and threatening an umpire	1910	33	South Melbourne	1
Tommy Downs	Kicking	1931	29	Carlton
Percy Sheehan	Striking and melee involvement	1910	28	Carlton
Jack Shorten	Striking and melee involvement	1910	28	Collingwood
Elijah Taylor	Breach of AFL COVID protocols and bringing the game into disrepute	2020 and 2021	28	Sydney/none	2
Arthur Coghlan	Striking and melee involvement	1925	26	Geelong
Stan Thomas	Elbowing, striking and melee involvement	1925	26	Geelong
Dan Keily	Sustained abuse of umpire	1917	24

Arthur Ford	Abusing and threatening umpire	1910	23	Carlton
Wally Warden	Kicking	1928	22	Footscray
Ben Cousins	Bringing the game into disrepute	2007	22	none	3
Jaidyn Stephenson	Gambling on AFL matches	2019	22	Collingwood	4
Tom Baxter	Striking and melee involvement	1910	21	Collingwood	5
Ted Whitfield	Attempting to strike an umpire, abusing an umpire and 2 × misconduct	1945	21	South Melbourne
Dick Condon	Sustained abuse of umpire	1900	20	Collingwood	1
Billy Gent	3 × Striking	1904	20	South Melbourne
George Holden	Striking	1911	20	Fitzroy
Peter Reville	3 × Striking	1934	20	South Melbourne
Phil Carman	Striking and headbutting umpire	1980	20	Essendon
Chris Appleton	Gambling on AFL matches	2010	20	Goal umpire
Wayne Siekman	Gambling on AFL matches	2010	20	Interchange steward
John Wise	Gambling on AFL matches	2010	20	Interchange steward

https://paid.outbrain.com/network/r...4Lo-zRWYKB9ZI_l-JhAklbKwvkCV3g&c=3d19b070&v=3
https://paid.outbrain.com/network/r...43w0P5RHCLLo55c9UCg-0gw69l60Lw&c=4ad33b5c&v=3


https://paid.outbrain.com/network/r...-FlTKmAekCE5nUrCq20HI4EbNwgIJ4&c=2b45cbe4&v=3
https://paid.outbrain.com/network/r...mwDtnfkDXiXrn22-Tpb7weIFo_mDEZ&c=ae21551b&v=3

What Stewart did is pretty bad but to compare it to the helconian days of VFL and all the shenanigans that took place is just silly. Yes he ****ed up but he'll cop his 4 or so weeks. To compare it to yester years is a bit dramatic

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

Most are corruption and the majority of violent ones are very long ago. Says something.

Didn’t Steve Baker get 14 for repeatedly whacking Stevie J’s injured hand? 2009 I think.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Wow Jaidyn Stephensen was suspended for 22 matches ? ? I don't remember that... thought it was like 4 or 5... That explains his career going down the drain from how good he looked when the Pies made the GF

Yes he hasn't been the same since then.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Wow Jaidyn Stephensen was suspended for 22 matches ? ? I don't remember that... thought it was like 4 or 5... That explains his career going down the drain from how good he looked when the Pies made the GF

Didn't he conveniently come back in round 23 of that season? Scandal was mid year.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

What Stewart did is pretty bad but to compare it to the helconian days of VFL and all the shenanigans that took place is just silly. Yes he ducked up but he'll cop his 4 or so weeks. To compare it to yester years is a bit dramatic

The concussion comment wasn't about Stewart specifically, it was more about the new evidence on concussion and how the AFL will go about stamping it out of the game.

 

[Boxhead_31]

How many games did Justin Charles get for his doping charge?

 

[Moonatic77]

The concussion comment wasn't about Stewart specifically, it was more about the new evidence on concussion and how the AFL will go about stamping it out of the game.

Regardless how many weeks Stewart cops, play should have stopped when Prestia was clearly knocked out. Play continued around and very close to his proximity whilst in the hands of trainers. That's a bit ****ed up I reckon and a blight on our game

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Regardless how many weeks Stewart cops, play should have stopped when Prestia was clearly knocked out. Play continued around and very close to his proximity whilst in the hands of trainers. That's a bit ducked up I reckon and a blight on our game

There has always been that rule but they go hot/cold on it.
I was more concerned they made him walk off with no stretcher.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

How many games did Justin Charles get for his doping charge?

Late in the 1997 AFL season, Charles became the first player to test positive to an anabolic steroid, boldenone.[1] The AFL tribunal suspended him for 16 matches, as there was not an anti-drug policy in place at the time

 

[Moonatic77]

There has always been that rule but they go hot/cold on it.
I was more concerned they made him walk off with no stretcher.

Yep. Wasn't cool

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

Most are corruption and the majority of violent ones are very long ago. Says something.

Didn’t Steve Baker get 14 for repeatedly whacking Stevie J’s injured hand? 2009 I think.

Ah my bad, Baker was offered 12 but accepted 9 for guilty plea. Brought him back just in time for finals.

 

[WillHayward]

Bribery.
That's brilliant.
I assume they bribed the umps.
Classic Blues.

 

[theiaofseed]

Wow Jaidyn Stephensen was suspended for 22 matches ? ? I don't remember that... thought it was like 4 or 5... That explains his career going down the drain from how good he looked when the Pies made the GF

He missed ten games total, back in tiem for the first final.... funny how often that happens.

 

[Altum Volantes]

1910 was a wild year for suspensions.

You’d have got dickety-six weeks for that s**t Stewart pulled on Saturday.

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

1910 was a wild year for suspensions.

You’d have got dickety-six weeks for that s**t Stewart pulled on Saturday.

Yet Worsfold got nothing for this.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Yet Worsfold got nothing for this.

To be fair, that was only Dermott.

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

To be fair, that was only Dermott.

Fully agree but still, Stewart’s crap pales in comparison.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Fully agree but still, Stewart’s crap pales in comparison.

Well this ain’t 1910, so Stewart should be right.

 

[raskolnikov]

Where's John Bourke?

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

Well this ain’t 1910, so Stewart should be right.

All bar the outrage from Punt Rd.

 

[Lampers]

Bribery.
That's brilliant.
I assume they bribed the umps.
Classic Blues.

That’s what I took from this list, Carlton feature heavily for all sorts of shenanigans.

Also there was a bloke named “Dick Condon”.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Where's John Bourke?

He got a lazy 7 years on appeal after getting 10 years and 16 games Initially.

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

He got a lazy 7 years on appeal after getting 10 years and 16 games Initially.

That didn't qualify for this list as it was a reserves game.