Goodes Gets Bad News As Suspension Looms

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday June 24, 2008

Michael Cowley

SYDNEY will be without dual Brownlow medal winner Adam Goodes for Saturday week's crucial match against Collingwood, and his streak of 204 consecutive games will come to an abrupt end unless the Swans can successfully defend a rough-conduct charge handed out yesterday by the AFL's match-review panel.

Just two weeks after being charged with a similar level-one offence arising from a clash with West Coast's Adam Selwood, Goodes was yesterday charged by the panel with engaging in rough conduct with Melbourne's Clint Bartram during the second quarter of Sunday's clash at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

But unlike the previous incident, when Goodes escaped suspension by taking an early guilty plea, he cannot do so this time.

The incident was assessed as negligent, low impact and high contact (identical to the Selwood incident), which results in four activation points, 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. But, because Goodes has 93.75 points carried over from the Selwood charge, the penalty increases to 218.75 points and a two-match sanction. With an early guilty plea and a reduction of 25 per cent, Goodes will still miss one match.

While Sydney coach Paul Roos would not comment on the Selwood incident before the match-review panel's decision two weeks ago, he did have an opinion on the Bartram clash. "I've seen that ... I'm certainly not concerned," he said.

The Swans, whose players were yesterday sent off on a week's break because they have a bye, last night announced they would wait until today before deciding whether to fight the charge or accept the one-match ban. If they went to the tribunal and lost, Goodes would not only miss the clash with the Magpies, but also the following week's vital match against Hawthorn.

Goodes, who earlier this season was labelled by Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews as a "protected species" when it came to the tribunal after beating a charge prior to their clash in round three, has now been charged by the match-review panel four times in the past 14 months, three of those coming this season.

"It was an inappropriate action based on what we know about footy. I've spoken to him already and he knows it's unacceptable and he needs to modify the way he does those sort of things," Roos said about Goodes at the time about the contact with Selwood. "He needs to bend down and go and pick up the ball, and if he had his time over again, that's what he'd do. I think we're a pretty disciplined side and we generally do things pretty well.

"Every now and then we have something we don't like as a club and ourselves, and obviously Adam was unhappy about it himself, and hopefully he doesn't do it again."

Goodes has not missed a match since round 21, 1999. His 204 matches in succession is the third best in the history of the game, behind only Melbourne duo Jim Stynes (244) and Adem Yze (226).

The Swans return to training next Sunday, refreshed to prepare for the clash with Collingwood at ANZ Stadium on July 5.

Roos did not feel the break would be a "momentum killer", despite bringing to a halt his team's run of six successive wins. The last time they had a week off was back in May when the Hall of Fame Tribute Match was played. They, have not lost a game since.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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