Carlton defender Heath Scotland has escaped conviction over a fight at a club in southern New South Wales.
Albury Local Court heard Scotland punched a man in the jaw at the Mulwala club in January, knocking him unconscious.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of occasioning actual bodily harm.
Scotland's lawyer told the court that a conviction would impede his client's goal of working for the fire brigade in Melbourne when he leaves football.
Magistrate Tony Murray said he was satisfied Scotland had shown remorse and he imposed a two-year behaviour bond.
"This is a very serious matter and Heath is well aware of the position of the club and the AFL to such incidents," Carlton general manager of football operations Andrew McKay said.
McKay said the club could not comment until the court proceedings had run their course.
"It was important to respect Heath's position in relation to this legal matter and as such we were unable to make comment or discuss possible club imposed sanctions until after the court hearing," he said.
"The club was disappointed in Heath not adhering to the behaviours that all players of the Carlton Football Club are expected to maintain and thus putting himself in a potentially vulnerable position.
"Following today's court hearing we are now in a position to determine an appropriate penalty."
Heath made the Blues aware of the incident at the time and McKay said Carlton kept the AFL informed of the matter.
"Heath has already completed over 25 hours of community work during 2012 and this will be taken into account when we determine the appropriate club imposed penalties," he said.
"We will discuss this with the AFL and the AFLPA and confirm with Heath before releasing any details of the club sanction."
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, carlton-3053, vic, australia First posted October 09, 2012 16:27:29