Essendon defender Jayden Laverde has been handed a three-match suspension for a headbutting act in the Bombers' Saturday night VFL match against Port Melbourne.
The 29-year-old has yet to play a game at AFL level after appearing 21 times for the senior Bombers side in 2024, and has averaged 19 disposals and 9.5 marks in his two VFL games this season.
The action occurred early in the second quarter of Saturday's affair as Laverde was standing up after taking a contested mark, headbutting Port Melbourne tall Jimmy Miller before going to take his kick.
The incident was not picked up by umpires in the moment, but Channel 7's commentary team were quick to identify that Laverde could be facing scrutiny for the incident.
The VFL match review officer has graded the act as intentional conduct, medium impact and high contact, meaning Laverde faces a three-match ban, reduced to two with an early plea.
"That is not a good angle for Jayden Laverde."
Does the Bomber have a case to answer for this incident? pic.twitter.com/pFQORWLN3E
โ 7AFL (@7AFL) April 19, 2025
It means Laverde, if he were to be in selection running for the AFL side, will miss the ANZAC Day clash against Collingwood, and games against North Melbourne and Sydney.
The suspension is another blow to Essendon's key stocks depth, with ruckmen and forwards Nick Bryan, Sam Draper and Thomas Edwards all ruled out with long-term injuries, while Kyle Langford is still at least a week away from returning from a hamstring injury.
More to come...
