Newtown & Chilwell’s Peter Trompf enters the GFL tribunal. Picture: Glenn Ferguson Source: News Limited
NEWTOWN & Chilwell big man Peter Trompf has been banned for life after being suspended at the AFL Barwon tribunal on Monday night.
Trompf was handed four weeks for his strike on St Mary’s Andrew Banjanin in the third quarter of Saturday’s clash at Elderslie Reserve, taking his tally of career suspensions to 16 weeks.
Under nationwide rules, a player is deregistered when they reach the 16-week threshold. Tribunal chairman Ron Lovell said Trompf was handed three matches and an extra week following the four matches he served earlier in the season for misconduct against South Barwon’s Mitch Herbison.
Trompf can appeal the ban, which immediately comes into effect.
Newtown advocate Peter Murrihy and Trompf declined to comment as they left the hearing last night.
Trompf pleaded not guilty after being reported by two umpires for the incident late in the third term.
Boundary umpire Jake Hamilton said Banjanin had his back turned to the clubrooms when he was hit “directly” to the face with a left forearm.
Hamilton said he had a clear view of the incident from his position behind the goals at the point post.
Under cross examination Hamilton was asked whether he was certain that Banjanin was struck and he replied: “I felt that awful feeling when someone gets hit and I had to do something about it”.
Newtown advocate Peter Murrihy asked “are you absolutely sure it was him”, to which Hamilton responded: “I know it was him, I know what I saw”.
Goal umpire Rick Neville said he was about 25m from the incident.
“The two players were involved in the ruck, they went to contest the ball and neither made contact and a couple of seconds later he struck the player from St Mary’s with a left forearm,” Neville said.
“My view was clear. I don’t know why (but) No.28 Trompf “just went bang”.
Asked about the severity of the strike Neville described it as a “seven or eight out of 10”.
Neville also added that he believed it was “intentional”.
Banjanin said he copped an “elbow to the cheekbone” that felled him immediately.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Banjanin added.
He copped the blow to the side of the face and was left “with a shiner”.
Trompf claimed he “went for the ball and got knocked down in the process”
Tribunal panel member Ron Drew queried “so you didn’t hit him?” To which Trompf responded “no”.
“How did he get hit”, Drew added. “I don’t know, I had my eyes on the ball”, Trompf replied.
Murrihy pleaded with the tribunal to hand Trompf just two weeks.
“Three of four weeks is too many,” Murrihy said.
Trompf, a product of Noosa and a former Brisbane reserves player, had copped 12 weeks of suspensions dating back to 2008.
Last Modified on 14/08/2015 06:27