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West Coast Eagles to challenge the one-match ban given to Tim Kelly ahead of Saturday’s western derby

Samantha Rogers and Jackson Barrett The West Australian
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West Coast will fight the one-match sanction offered to Tim Kelly for this tackle on Sam Berry.
Camera IconWest Coast will fight the one-match sanction offered to Tim Kelly for this tackle on Sam Berry. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Photos

West Coast will fight the one-match ban offered to midfielder Tim Kelly in a bid to have him free to play this weekend’s western derby.

Kelly was offered a one-match ban for a dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Sam Berry in the third quarter of the Crows’ 16-point win at Optus Stadium on Sunday.

It was assessed as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact by AFL match review officer Michael Christian.

Tim Kelly collared Sam Berry in this tackle.
Camera IconTim Kelly collared Sam Berry in this tackle. Credit: Paul Kane/via AFL Photos

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He was offered a one-match ban, which the Eagles will now take to the tribunal.
Camera IconHe was offered a one-match ban, which the Eagles will now take to the tribunal. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Photos

But coach Adam Simpson had hinted the Eagles will challenge the ruling.

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“We’ll look at it. There’s probably enough there to go and have an appeal,” Simpson told 7NEWS.

It comes after Richmond’s Trent Cotchin was cleared for a similar incident involving Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines on the weekend.

Wines was sent for a concussion test after his head hit the Adelaide Oval turf during a Cotchin tackle in the first quarter of the Tigers’ 38-point victory on Saturday.

He later returned to the field and Cotchin was not sanctioned by the MRO.

Carlton have also confirmed they will fight a fortnight-long ban offered to Patrick Cripps as they scrap to hold on to a spot in the eight.

Cripps was reported for a late hit on Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee in Sunday’s defeat to the Lions which if upheld, would rule him out of this weekend’s clash with Melbourne and a monster Round 23 match with rivals Collingwood.

The Blues must win one of the two games to secure their return to finals.

West Coast mid-season recruit Jai Culley remains unavailable, having one game remaining on his two-match ban for striking Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson.

Simpson didn’t oversell the Eagles’ hopes of causing a derby boilover but said “you’ve got to believe” as a club.

“Derby brings out strange things so you never know,” he said.

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