Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
The Jason Horne-Francis suspension will leave Port Adelaide Football Club without another leading player for Saturday’s AFL clash with the ladder-leading Fremantle Dockers at Adelaide Oval. Port Adelaide Football Club confirmed on Monday that it had accepted the one-match ban.
Jason Horne-Francis was charged over his fourth-quarter bump on Liam Stocker during Port Adelaide Football Club’s loss to the St Kilda Saints. The official AFL match review graded the incident as careless conduct, high contact and medium impact.
The decision adds to the AFL’s wider disciplinary discussion, which has included the Harley Reid free-kick record and West Coast Eagles’ response.
Port Adelaide Accepts Match Review Grading
“Having reviewed comparable charges across the league this season, the club’s legal team has found no grounds to reduce the grading from medium to low, and an appeal to the AFL Tribunal would not succeed,” Port Adelaide Football Club said.
“The league’s grading system offers no realistic basis to challenge. Horne-Francis elected to bump and left the ground at the point of contact, the contact was high and felled the player, which meets the threshold for medium impact.”
Selection Problems Mount
Jason Horne-Francis joins Zak Butters and Mitch Georgiades among the players leaving the team that faced the St Kilda Saints. Connor Rozee, Esava Ratugolea and Sam Powell-Pepper are also unavailable.
Lachie Jones and Jack Lukosius require further assessment following fresh injuries. Without Jason Horne-Francis, Zak Butters and Connor Rozee, Port Adelaide Football Club will lose ball-winning power and attacking drive through midfield.
