Richmond star Trent Cotchin is free to play in Sunday’s big Round 17 clash with North Melbourne at the MCG after the AFL’s Match Review Panel found he had no case to answer, with regards to an incident in last Saturday’s match against Gold Coast at Cairns’ Cazalys Stadium.
Contact between Cotchin and the Suns’ Josh Hall during the second quarter was assessed.
Hall was seeking to mark the ball as Cotchin came in to spoil. He took the mark and Cotchin made high contact with an open hand, for which a 50-metre penalty was paid against him.
It was the view of the MRP that Cotchin had his eyes on the ball at all times and the contact was a legitimate attempt to spoil the ball. As a result, no further action was taken.
