Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury has been handed a one-match suspension for his high bump on Adelaide defender Josh Worrell. The AFL’s match review officer graded the hit as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact, resulting in a career-first suspension after 427 games.
Pendlebury learned his fate while covering St Kilda’s clash with Melbourne live on Channel 7 as an expert commentator. He said he and the club will decide if they contest the ban at the tribunal on Tuesday.
“There you go. Well, I guess there’s a process in place now — I’ve never been in this situation,” Pendlebury said after hearing the news. “I’ll let the process play out. I haven’t been on my phone, obviously working with the lovely people here at Channel 7 today. We’ll go through that process in due course.”
Collingwood are almost certain to challenge the ruling at the tribunal, where they could plead for compelling circumstances and aim to have it downgraded to a fine, given Pendlebury’s unblemished record. Earlier, Pendlebury told Triple M he only braced for contact and that it was incidental.
