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Hayes in the clear
2 May 2006
Scott Spits
Sportal for saints.com.au
Injury-hit St Kilda has received a significant boost at the AFL Tribunal after classy midfielder Lenny Hayes was cleared of an attempting to strike charge.
The tribunal's jury took just seconds to determine Hayes was not guilty of attempting to strike Fremantle's Steven Dodd during the drama-packed clash between the Saints and Dockers in Launceston last Sunday.
St Kilda has a host of players hit by injury and in doubt for Saturday's crunch match against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome, and they could ill-afford to lose Hayes for such a vital match.
In a sometimes-heated match at Aurora Stadium, the two players were grappling and Hayes admitted he had used a clenched fist to try to break Dodd's grasp but said he was only attempting to hit the Docker's arms to break free and go after the football.
"I've tried to hit his arm away with a swinging motion," Hayes, 26, told the tribunal, claiming no contact was made because Dodd had let go and Hayes was off balance and falling backwards.
"I had to intention of intending to strike anyone.
"To be honest I thought it (the report) was against Dodd because I hadn't done anything wrong.
"My main objective was to try and get the ball. I've had these tactics used against me before."
There was no video footage of the first quarter incident and field umpire Michael Vozzo gave evidence that the Saint's "roundhouse" action to break Dodd's hold was at least 30 centimetres from the Fremantle tagger.
"At the time his fist came past it would have missed by at least 30 centimetres," Vozzo said.
Player advocate Sean Carroll said St Kilda wished there was video footage of the incident and if it was available, Hayes wouldn't have had to contest the classification of the AFL's match review panel.
"At best it was a negligent act in the circumstances," Carroll said.
The tribunal's jury - comprised of Emmett Dunne, Michael Sexton and Richard Loveridge - took barely 30 seconds to agree that Hayes was not guilty of the charge and the midfielder was cleared to play against the Bulldogs.
Good news at last.
2 May 2006
Scott Spits
Sportal for saints.com.au
Injury-hit St Kilda has received a significant boost at the AFL Tribunal after classy midfielder Lenny Hayes was cleared of an attempting to strike charge.
The tribunal's jury took just seconds to determine Hayes was not guilty of attempting to strike Fremantle's Steven Dodd during the drama-packed clash between the Saints and Dockers in Launceston last Sunday.
St Kilda has a host of players hit by injury and in doubt for Saturday's crunch match against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome, and they could ill-afford to lose Hayes for such a vital match.
In a sometimes-heated match at Aurora Stadium, the two players were grappling and Hayes admitted he had used a clenched fist to try to break Dodd's grasp but said he was only attempting to hit the Docker's arms to break free and go after the football.
"I've tried to hit his arm away with a swinging motion," Hayes, 26, told the tribunal, claiming no contact was made because Dodd had let go and Hayes was off balance and falling backwards.
"I had to intention of intending to strike anyone.
"To be honest I thought it (the report) was against Dodd because I hadn't done anything wrong.
"My main objective was to try and get the ball. I've had these tactics used against me before."
There was no video footage of the first quarter incident and field umpire Michael Vozzo gave evidence that the Saint's "roundhouse" action to break Dodd's hold was at least 30 centimetres from the Fremantle tagger.
"At the time his fist came past it would have missed by at least 30 centimetres," Vozzo said.
Player advocate Sean Carroll said St Kilda wished there was video footage of the incident and if it was available, Hayes wouldn't have had to contest the classification of the AFL's match review panel.
"At best it was a negligent act in the circumstances," Carroll said.
The tribunal's jury - comprised of Emmett Dunne, Michael Sexton and Richard Loveridge - took barely 30 seconds to agree that Hayes was not guilty of the charge and the midfielder was cleared to play against the Bulldogs.
Good news at last.
