Young St Kilda forward Anthony Caminiti is facing a potential lengthy ban after an off-the-ball incident which saw him appear to strike Collingwood’s Nathan Murphy in the head.
While the camera angles shown on the broadcast of the Saints’ six-point loss to Collingwood were not completely clear as they were not focused on the incident, it saw Murphy first strike Caminiti in the chest, sparking some pushing and shoving.
Caminiti then throws his left forearm towards Murphy, who slightly ducks at the moment of impact, causing the Magpies defender to be hit high.
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Murphy then went to the bench and shared some less than kind words with the St Kilda crew nearby.
But Caminiti would appear especially likely to cop a lengthy suspension after Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed Murphy would miss Round 6’s clash with Essendon with concussion.
Before learning of the concussion, St Kilda great Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy: “Our (initial) view was very similar – he seemed to overreact Nathan Murphy, because he instigated the contact behind the ball for no real reason.
“Then Caminiti’s gone and retaliated and because Murphy dropped his body almost as a flinch reaction, he got him high.”
North Melbourne champion David King added: “I think there’s a lot to play out with that.”
While McRae said he hadn’t seen the incident, the club doctor immediately ruled out Murphy due to his history of several brain injuries.
The Bombers will be without Zach Merrett after he was awarded a one-week ban for a dangerous tackle.
