A quirk in the NEAFL fixture has forced Sydney Swans veteran Ted Richards to accept a one-game suspension, or risk ruining his chances of forcing his way back into the senior side this year.
Richards was reported for rough conduct in the first quarter of the Swans' 135-point win over the Brisbane Lions in the reserves on Saturday, and accepted a one-match ban.
The incident was assessed as careless with medium impact.
The Swans' reserves only have two games remaining in the regular season before having a bye before the finals, meaning if Richards chose to contest his suspension and lost, he effectively would have missed three weeks instead of one.
"I'm a bit flat because I didn't think there was anything in it at the time, so I've accepted it, but I'm pretty disappointed," he told RSN radio on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately we had to look at the situation in context, and if I was to challenge it and fail, it was going to be hard to push my case without playing footy for three weeks.
"I reckon if it was earlier in the year I would have challenged it, but I just had to take it."
The 261-game defender will retire at the end of the season, his 17th in the league, after playing just eight games this year thanks to a combination of soft tissue injuries and concussion issues, as well as the emergence of youngster Aliir Aliir.
Richards hasn't played in the senior team since being dropped for the Swans' round 18 clash with Carlton, but made it clear at his retirement announcement last Friday, that he is hoping to fight his way back into the senior side in 2016.
The 33-year-old will miss the Swans' clash with NT Thunder in Darwin this week, and will return in the final round of the NEAFL season against Sydney University.
