Monetary fine awaits star forwardCOLEMAN Medal winner Lance Franklin has been charged with 'negligently making contact with an umpire', joining a growing list of AFL players colliding with the men with the whistle.
The Hawthorn forward and umpire Jason Armstrong crossed paths in the final quarter of Saturday's pulsating match between the Hawks and Carlton.
Franklin can accept a $1950 fine with an early plea. According to the AFL's rules on player-umpire contact, a first offence for negligently making contact with an umpire, which this is for Franklin, is a $2600 sanction. An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a $1950 sanction.
Meanwhile, Franklin's defence of the Coleman Medal, which he won last year when he booted 102 goals in the home-and-away season, slipped a little when he was overtaken by team-mate Jarryd Roughead and Carlton's Brendon Fevola. The man they call 'Buddy' had the lead with 16 goals prior to the last round but he added just two majors against the Blues.
Last year, Franklin became the first Indigenous footballer to win the Coleman Medal, the award given to the AFL's leading goalkicker.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Last Modified on 05/05/2009 00:50