ESSENDON’S Sam Durham was offered a two-match suspension after his bump on Carlton’s Adam Cerra in Sunday night’s eight-point loss at the MCG.<\/p>\n
The Bombers midfielder attacked the second-quarter ground ball contest side on while bracing to bump, making contact with Cerra who had his head down as he gathered the ball.<\/p>\n
Luckily for Durham, the hit only grazed the face of Cerra with the brunt of the force collecting the shoulder of the Blues midfielder.<\/p>\n
It had been assumed by many that Durham would receive a one-match suspension, but Kane Cornes and David King both called for a heftier sanction.<\/p>\n
Cornes felt it was a very dangerous act.<\/p>\n
“I thought it was one of the most dangerous things I’ve seen on a football field for a long, long time,” he said on SEN’s Fireball.<\/p>\n
Which prompted King to urge the AFL to crack down on Durham even if Cerra did avoid concussion.<\/p>\n
“Yeah, but how have we got here?” King asked.<\/p>\n
“I’ve bashed my head against a brick wall about players not addressing their behaviour. We’re still bumping players.<\/p>\n
“Essentially, it’s the decision to go in at speed to a situation where you don’t really know the outcome.<\/p>\n
“The potential for serious injury with this Durham one\u2026 I hope they do elevate it (the suspension).<\/p>\n
“I’ve got nothing against Durham, he plays the game exactly the way you want.<\/p>\n
“This should be elevated because of the likelihood to cause serious injury.”<\/p>\n
Cornes labelled it a “stupid” and “ridiculous” decision by Durham to choose to bump.<\/p>\n
“It was just one of the stupidest things,” Cornes added.<\/p>\n
“It appears as though it’ll be one week because he (Cerra) escaped with no concussion. He did have a big shiner on his right eye though, Adam Cerra.<\/p>\n
“I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing that you would think to do that in 2025.<\/p>\n
“We outlawed this with Byron Pickett, the front on bumps. Very rarely do you see players suspended for bumps.<\/p>\n
“Durham’s decision was stupid and ridiculous.<\/p>\n
“When Cerra has got his head over the football in that moment, and Durham has a play on the ball and chooses to take his eyes off it, brace himself, get him front on\u2026<\/p>\n
“It could have been catastrophic.”<\/p>\n
King further explained how Cerra was extremely lucky to avoid serious injury.<\/p>\n
“If Cerra had put his head in a normal, natural position, there is every chance he’s in a wheelchair today,” he said further.<\/p>\n
“He had his head lifted, which was an abnormal position, wasn’t it? It’s so dangerous.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got to find a way through this, and we’re crying out for the players to help us, really.”<\/p>\n
Cornes concluded: “One week doesn’t quite feel serious enough for that.”<\/p>\n
King added: “I’d be happy with three weeks.”<\/p>\n
It has landed somewhere in between.<\/p>\n
BY SEN\/ANDREW SLEVISON<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ESSENDON’S Sam Durham was offered a two-match suspension after his bump on Carlton’s Adam Cerra in Sunday night’s eight-point loss at the MCG. The Bombers midfielder attacked the second-quarter ground ball contest side on while bracing to bump, making contact with Cerra who had his head down as he gathered the ball. Luckily for Durham, […]<\/p>\n