Melbourne midfielder Tom Bugg has been handed a six-game suspension after striking Sydney Swans defender Callum Mills last Friday night.
Bugg stated he was "very embarassed" by his actions and apologised to Mills and his Melbourne teammates for the incident. "I want to apologise to Callum Mills, his family, the Sydney Swans, the AFL and the wider community," Bugg said after the Tribunal hearing. "I'm standing here tonight very embarrassed by my actions. I fully accept the sanction that's been served. "I'm feeling very embarrassed and going forward I've got a lot of work to do to earn back the respect of my captains, my fellow players and my coaches." The incident occurred in the first four minutes of last Friday night's game, where Bugg struck Mills across the jaw. Mills fell to the ground and spent several seconds lying in shock. The young Swan left the field where he was given a concussion test and subsequently failed. The Match Review Panel assessed the incident as "intentional conduct with high impact to the head", and referred the incident directly to the Tribunal. Bugg said he had spoken to Mills and his apology had been accepted, but he had to work on earning back the respect of his leadership group and teammates. "My call to Callum was very genuine and to see if he was okay and if his family was travelling okay," Bugg said. "I'm really embarrassed by what I did on Friday night and I accept full responsibility for my actions. "I'm looking forward to just working over the next six weeks to earn back the respect from my club, players and everyone in the wider community." Bugg's representative Iain Findlay asked the Tribunal jury if they would consider a four-match sanction, as Bachar Houli's case was given the same assessment by the MRP. The jury consists of Wayne Henwood, Paul Williams and David Pittman. The player advocate asked for the jury to consider a five-match sanction, as a range of four to six matches seemed deserving because Bugg had showed remorse towards Mills and had apologised for the incident. Legal counsel of the AFL Nick Pane QC asked for the jury to consider a six-match sanction within a range of four to seven weeks. Tribunal chairman David Jones agreed with Pane, stating that the sanction would be appropriate for the penalty. Bugg was given the six-match suspension and won't be available for selection until round 22.
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