Ben Long has been issued a two-week ban for his off-the-ball hit on Collingwood's Brayden Maynard which sparked an all-in clash and ended with over a dozen players coming to the attention of the match review officer.
Touk Miller and Maynard escaped with $5000 fines after both made contact with an umpire in the fiery melee at the close of the first half, with Long set to miss Gold Coast's upcoming games with the Crows and Bulldogs.
He was charged with rough conduct graded intentional and high impact by the MRO after rushing in to bump Maynard from the side following a Suns' goal from a free kick for a high tackle second out from the main break.
Maynard went down hurt with the blow, with both sides engaging in an all-in after the emotions reignited on the siren.
The Collingwood enforcer's umpire contact had initially garnered most speculation about how it would be adjudicated given recent incidents across the league.
Following review, both Maynard and Miller were handed their fine for an act of misconduct, avoiding their own bans.
'The Match Review Officer has determined that these are not matters that constitute the Direct Tribunal Offence of "Intentional Contact with an Umpire",' the league explained in a statement.
'Further, the Match Review Officer has also determined that these are not matters that constitute the Fixed Financial Offence of "Unreasonable or Unnecessary Contact with an Umpire" or "Careless Contact with an Umpire", in particular as the prescribed sanction for that Fixed Financial Offence is inadequate in all the circumstances and does not reflect their seriousness.'
The incident came in Long's 150th career game.
Gold Coast's efforts not enough to snap a five-game losing streak, the Suns' slip down the ladder continued when Collingwood held off to claim a one goal win.
The Pies had their noses in front for the majority of the contest, but never enough to feel completely comfortable until the final siren.
Long was solid with two second half goals in his milestone match.
He was one of the list of players from either side who received a smaller fine, on top of his suspension, for 'engaging in a melee/wrestle'.
