Merrett was charged with a Level Four striking offence (325 demerit points, three-match sanction) for striking Gold Coast’s David Swallow during the final quarter of Saturday’s QClash.
In summary, he accepted a two-match sanction with an early plea.
Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from Gold Coast, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points). This is a total of seven activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Four offence, drawing 325 demerit points and a three-match sanction.
With a bad record of 46.56 demerit points carried over within the last 12 months, Merrett’s penalty was increased to 371.56 points and a three-match sanction.
However, an early plea reduced the sanction by 25 per cent to 278.67 points and a two-match sanction.
He will now miss upcoming matches against Port Adelaide (Round 4) and Richmond (Round 5), but will be able to return in time for the ANZAC Clash against St Kilda in Wellington in Round 6.
It is the second time in less than 12 months that Merrett has been booked for an on-field indiscretion, after he was handed a three-week suspension for a sling tackle on Essendon’s Michael Hurley in Round 8 last year.
It is also the second time this season that one of the Lions senior players has been cited by the AFL MRP, with Tom Rockliff copping a one-match ban following an incident with Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell in Round 1.
