Best of mates? The field umpire asks Cats Steve Johnson and Hayden Ballantyne to cool it. Source: Getty Images
Geelong's Steve Johnson crunches Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne during their Round 1 NAB Cup match at Patersons Stadium. Source: Getty Images
STEVE Johnson is likely to become the latest Geelong star suspended for the Round 1 blockbuster against Hawthorn after being offered a one-match ban by the match review panel.
Johnson was charged with striking Fremantle antagonist Hayden Ballantyne in Geelong's NAB Cup loss to Fremantle on Saturday.
James Kelly is already ineligible for the Cats' season-opener after he was suspended for making forceful contact to Tendai Mzungu in last year's elimination final loss to Fremantle.
Geelong said last night they were yet to make a decision on whether to appeal Johnson's penalty, but history shows they rarely take cases to the tribunal.
The Cats would risk a two-match ban if they chose to fight the charge.
Johnson, looking to block for a teammate, was caught on camera delivering a swinging arm to the stomach of Ballantyne in the second half at Subiaco Oval.
The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point), drawing 125 points and a one-match ban.Under new rules, players suspended during the pre-season must serve their ban during the season proper.
Johnson was already walking a tribunal tightrope, with an existing 80 carry-over points stemming from his one-match sanction for rough conduct against Sydney's Dan Hannebery in Round 23 last year.
Geelong coach Chris Scott denied after Saturday's game that there was any lingering ill-feeling from last year's heated Round 1 match against Fremantle, in which Ballantyne was suspended for striking Paul Chapman behind play, before he was punched in the face by Matthew Scarlett.
"I would be amazed (if there was still friction), none that I've seen. There tends to not be too much friction in NAB 1," Scott said.
But Scott appeared to have a dig at the Dockers goalsneak for staging.
"I didn't see what happened. I know (Ballantyne) was down for a long time," he said.
"I was more concerned with how quickly he got up and set up the next goal, he didn't look too bad did he?"
Hawthorn hasn't beaten Geelong since the 2008 Grand Final, a sequence of nine matches.
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