Solomon dropped for drinking session
Fremantle hard man Dean Solomon has paid the price for partnering Essendon's Mark McVeigh in a marathon drinking session, with the Dockers imposing a one-game AFL ban on the former Bomber.
It is believed Solomon and his good friend McVeigh were drinking at a South Melbourne hotel until the early hours of Monday morning.
But while McVeigh was slapped with a one-game suspension for missing a compulsory training session, Solomon, who had been given permission to remain in Melbourne for an extra day following the Dockers' loss to Collingwood, fulfilled all of his obligations with Fremantle upon his return to Perth.
However, the Dockers deemed Solomon's actions "detracted from his preparation" for Sunday's clash with Carlton at Subiaco Oval.
"In this instance, Dean hasn't demonstrated the level of professionalism that we expect and require of a senior member of our playing group," Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said in a statement.
"Dean accepts that his actions detracted from his preparation for this weekend's game."
It is the second time in the space of a month the Dockers have handed down a club-imposed sanction after Brett Peake was stood down for Fremantle's round 12 match against Geelong for staying out past curfew the night before a training session.
And it's not the first time Solomon has found himself in trouble at Fremantle.
The 203-game veteran, who made the switch to the Dockers at the end of 2006 after 158 games with Essendon, was among six players dropped for the round 22 game against Port Adelaide in 2007 after being involved in a mid-week drinking session.
Peake, Steven Dodd, Des Headland, Antoni Grover and Paul Hasleby were the others disciplined over that incident.
Solomon also hit the headlines last year when he was handed an eight-week suspension by the AFL tribunal for his elbow on Geelong's Cameron Ling.
Solomon, 29, is out of contract at year's end but is eager to go around for another season.
He has been a solid contributor in his 12 matches this year but his absence against the Blues on Sunday will be keenly felt, with skipper Matthew Pavlich already ruled out of the match with a calf injury.
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