Demons forward Bugg to front AFL tribunal

A week after Bachar Houli's controversial case, Melbourne's Tomas Bugg has also been referred directly to the AFL tribunal.

Tomas Bugg

Tom Bugg is expected to face the wrath of the AFL's match review panel on Monday. (AAP)

Melbourne forward Tomas Bugg has been referred directly to the AFL tribunal for his ugly hit on Sydney's Callum Mills.

Bugg faces a likely five or six-game suspension at Tuesday night's hearing after knocking out Mills with a left hook to the chin.

A discount for an early guilty plea is not available to the 24-year-old after the match review panel classified the incident as intentional conduct with high impact to the head.

The decision will come as little surprise to Bugg, who expressed remorse after punching Mills well off the ball early in the first term of Friday night's clash at the MCG.

Mills was forced from the field for the rest of the match as Sydney posted a big win.

Fremantle forward Cam McCarthy and St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster have meanwhile both been offered two-game suspensions for incidents in Sunday's clash in Perth.

McCarthy was charged with rough conduct for a tackle that left St Kilda defender Sam Gilbert concussed, while Webster was charged with making "unreasonable and unnecessary" contact to the eye of Nick Suban.

The MRP on Monday also offered fines to 10 players, with Saints midfielder Jack Steven escaping suspension for striking Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne in the midriff.

Sydney's Zak Jones was cleared over a high bump on Melbourne forward Mitch Hannan, with the MRP ruling he had been contesting the ball.

After 13 rounds without any tribunal hearings, Bugg's case will be the second in as many weeks.

Richmond defender Bachar Houli was also referred to the tribunal without the option of an early plea last week for the forearm swipe that concussed Carlton opponent Jed Lamb.

The tribunal gave Houli a lenient two-match ban on the basis of his character, but the AFL made an historic appeal and the suspension was doubled.

Bugg's strike on Mills was widely condemned, with Swans forward Tom Papley making his feelings clear after the game.

"It was a pretty dog act. If you want to be tough, you be tough at the contest, not 80 metres off the ball.," Papley told AAP.


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Source: AAP



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