A local footballer in South Australia can never play footy at any level ever again after throwing a coward punch at an opponent behind play.

Ingle Farm premiership player Brandon Rigney has copped a 14-match ban from the Adelaide Footy League for an off-the-ball hit that flattened and concussed a Fitzroy player in Round 8 of the division six competition, which dates back to June 14.

The sickening hit, which happened in the last quarter of the match and got caught on camera, was graded as intentional conduct, high contact and severe impact.

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Rigney then bizarrely feigned his own injury, laying face-first on the ground next to his opponent, as confused spectators watched on while players from both sides approached the two players.

The monster suspension takes Rigney’s total career games banned to 25, easily exceeding the local league’s limit of 12 and the AFL’s nation-wide limit of 16, meaning the Bulldogs veteran has been automatically deregistered.

He can no longer play in any competition in the country without a successful appeal, which would appear unlikely.

Given it occurred nowhere near the ball, the incident wasn’t seen by on-field umpires.

But an investigation was opened when Fitzroy lodged a complaint, which alerted the league to the incident.

Adelaide Footy League boss John Kernahan said the competition was disgusted by the hit.

“The Adelaide Footy League is all of disappointed, frustrated and angry,” he said.

“At the same time, we’re only reaffirming standards and expectations of conduct.

“These types of incidents in 2025 are thankfully from a bygone era though our reaction is very 2025; we’re not having it.

“The footage doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Fitzroy had every right to represent their player’s interests and Ingle Farm was cooperative and extremely embarrassed.”

Kernahan said Rigney’s action was not representative of the league’s wider behavioural standards.

“As a benchmark, the league is enjoying its best year for a decade,” he said.

“We take some comfort this incident is not representative of the general ethos our clubs aim for.

“We have 12,000 players, 69 clubs and things are going to go wrong sometimes.

“We believe we should be measured by how we respond to the test and we think the penalty reflects the expectations of our clubs.

“What players also need to be aware of is long after the penalty has been served, these types of incidents are on video — they’re easily found and the stigma of committing it stays.”