On Easter Saturday 1996, Geelong and St Kilda met at Kardinia Park. While the Cats would win a high scoring encounter, in which 46 goals were scored, the game would ultimately be remembered for one single incident in the second quarter. An incident that would see Kristian Bardsley of St Kilda taken to hospital, where he would receive 18 stitches to his face, and Gary Ablett would earn a highly publicised trip to the tribunal.
The tribunal would sit for nearly three hours before deciding Ablett’s fate, a five week suspension. Watch the above video to see some of the commentary from the time including Ron Barassi weighing up whether players should be represented by lawyers at the tribunal.
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