Richmond gun Eilish Sheerin has been sent to the AFLW tribunal for “making intentional contact with an umpire” in the closing stages of Saturday night’s thrilling draw against Essendon.
With 90 seconds remaining in the contest, Sheerin pushed her Bombers opponent Georgia Nanscawen into the path of the umpire, who was backing away after balling it up.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sheerin sent straight to AFLW tribunal.
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Nanscawen crashed into the umpire’s back and legs, which caused her to fall over.
But thankfully there appeared to be no injury suffered to the player or the umpire.
Sheerin was referred directly to the tribunal with the match review officer assessing the incident as “intentional” as opposed to careless, which would have only drawn a fine.
It remains unclear what the penalty will be, but a lengthy suspension could be a hammer blow to the Tigers’ hopes with just one game remaining before finals.
Sheerin, 32, has been a revelation since joining the Tigers as a mature-aged recruit ahead of the 2022 season.
She has been an All-Australian in the past two seasons, as well as finishing runner-up to superstar Mon Conti in the Richmond best and fairest.
The incident came shortly after Essendon ruck Steph Wales ruptured her ACL in a nasty injury.
Wales was stretchered off in the Darwin clash after her right knee buckled in a ruck contest, just minutes after Tigers player Sarah Hosking was forced off with a hamstring injury.
Wales is the Bombers’ sole ruck option, with her injury spelling trouble for their must-win clash against Carlton in the final round of the regular season.
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The 21-year-old bears the brunt of most ruck contests, with 234 hitouts this season to be seventh in the league.
“We are shattered for Steph after scans this morning confirmed she has ruptured her ACL,” Bombers medical services boss Megan Smith said.
“We will seek a surgical opinion and advice on next steps over the coming days.”
Meanwhile, Sydney defender Maddy Collier was hit with a one-game ban for rough conduct and six other players were hit with fines in a busy day for the match review officer.
– With AAP