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Adelaide star Ebony Marinoff free to play West Coast after three-match suspension quashed by AFLW Appeal Board

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Eliza ReillyThe West Australian
VideoAFLW: Adelaide Crows gun Ebony Marinoff has been handed the longest suspension in AFLW history for her hit on Giants recruit Brid Stack during a practice match

Star Adelaide midfielder Ebony Marinoff will be free to play West Coast in the AFLW season opener on Saturday after the AFLW Appeals Board quashed her three-match ban.

Marinoff was charged and suspended for a third of the AFLW season, the longest ban in AFLW history, after forceful front-on contact and a sickening collision with Giants player Brid Stack in the dying stages of a practice match.

The collision left Stack with a fractured neck.

Adelaide wasted no time appealing the decision but the tribunal hearing was delayed by a week after the Crows presented new video evidence.

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The footage showed two Crows players bumping Stack over the boundary, towards the hoarding fence. 

Ebony Marinoff has been cleared and is free to play in Round one.
Camera IconEbony Marinoff has been cleared and is free to play in Round one. Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos
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Adelaide attempted to argue the incident may have contributed to Stack’s fracture but the hearing was adjourned until Thursday night to allow time for the new evidence to be reviewed.

Adelaide head of women’s football Phil Harper told media before the hearing the club believed the guilty verdict and length of suspension to be unjust.

“As a club, we feel an overwhelming obligation to defend our player,” Harper said.

“We believe that (Marinoff) has done everything humanely possible not to breach her duty of care for the opposition player in this incident and people who have seen the incident tend to agree with that.

“She hasn’t slept for a couple of nights and she’s quite upset about the whole thing, which is quite understandable.”

Marinoff’s case centred around the midfielder contesting the ball and having no realistic alternative.

The three-hour marathon hearing also saw the Crows argue the front-on contact was not entirely caused by Marinoff.

AFLW trailblazer and Melbourne star Daisy Pearce provided a character reference.

The AFLW rising star winner will now attempt to overpower West Coast’s new look inside midfield of Dana Hooker, Emma Swanson and Aisling McCarthy.

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