Lions coach Chris Fagan is pleased with the “clear direction” the AFL is taking against the use of slurs after Gold Coast Suns star Wil Powell was banned for five matches for a homophobic smear towards a Brisbane player.
The AFL suspended Powell on Thursday for conduct unbecoming for the slur he directed at a Lions player in Sunday night’s QClash at the Gabba.
Powell apologised to the Brisbane player during and after the game for his comment.
“I know there is no place for comments of that nature and I will accept the repercussions for my actions,” Powell said on Thursday.
“I should have known better and I need to prove this with my actions moving forward.”
Powell’s ban came after Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson was last month banned for three games for a similar homophobic slur towards an Essendon player.
Fagan was reluctant to discuss Powell’s suspension but suggested a clear message had been sent by the AFL that such slurs would not be tolerated.
“That’s for the AFL to talk about,” the Lions coach said on Friday.
“It’s a clear direction from the AFL, which I agree with, that you can’t make those sort of comments out on the field.”
Powell’s comment came on a bittersweet night at the Gabba for the Lions, who secured a much-needed 34-point win but lost four more players to injury, including season-ending ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments for Linc McCarthy and Darcy Gardiner.
The Lions now have five players sidelined with ruptured ACLs, the other three being Keidean Coleman, Tom Doedee and Will Ashcroft.
Four of those injuries occurred at the Gabba, but Fagan dismissed suggestions that the ground’s playing surface had been a factor.
“I’m suspecting it’s just bad luck, but it’s incredible bad luck,” Fagan said.
Brisbane’s spate of injuries will result in more changes for Sunday’s clash with the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Among those added to an extended squad named on Thursday night was the fit-again Callum Ah Chee, defenders Jaxon Prior and Darragh Joyce, and rookie Shadeau Brain.
Those retaining their spots in the squad include Bruce Reville, who debuted last Sunday, and Logan Morris, who was rushed into action against the Suns after playing for Brisbane’s VFL team earlier in the day.
“We’ve been a pretty steady line-up for the last five or six years, and the reason for that is because we’ve been able to win a lot of games, so we don’t make changes for the (sake of) change,” Fagan said.
“This does provide us with an opportunity to have a look at how some of the younger guys are developing and we’ll see how they go.
“I’m pretty sure that whatever happens it’ll be a positive response from the players.”
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