Palm Beach Currumbin will be without their captain, Jesse Derrick, for this weekend’s blockbuster qualifying final against Labrador, after he was handed a one match suspension by the AFL Queensland Independent Tribunal last night.
Derrick was charged with engaging in unreasonable rough conduct. The Match Review Panel initially offered him a base sanction of three matches that could be reduced to two matches with an early guilty plea, however he elected to have the matter heard by tribunal.
The reigning Grogan Medalist pleaded guilty at the hearing and in accordance with the tribunal rules successfully put forward a case of ‘exceptional and compelling circumstances’ in relation to his impeccable record, which resulted in the penalty being reduced.
