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A witness has described the drunken antics of one of three AFL
footballers who clashed with police during a Lionel Ritchie concert
at a Victorian winery.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said she saw the incident
involving Kangaroos players Aaron Edwards, Shannon Grant and
Hamish McIntosh during the concert at Scotchman's Hill winery at
Drysdale, near Geelong, on Saturday night.
The trio clashed with security guards and police, who reportedly
used capsicum spray to subdue Grant while Edwards lay unconscious
nearby.
Edwards will face disciplinary action from the club over the
incident.
The woman who witnessed the altercation said Edwards looked
extremely drunk.
"I was working at ... a A Day On The Green, and saw Aaron Edwards
being dragged out by police in a T-shirt and his red jocks,'' the
woman said.
"His shorts had fallen off while police were trying to restrain
him. His girlfriend grabbed his shorts and was screaming at him to
get up off the ground.
"My mates and I were sitting on the grass and he was right in front
of us while it all happened.''
The woman said Edwards' teammates asked police not to eject him
from the venue in front of concertgoers.
"He had to be hand cuffed, and his fellow footballer mates were
begging the police not to take him through the crowd of people, but
they did.''
The woman said she spotted Edwards again outside the venue.
"I then saw them once they had been escorted out, and Aaron Edwards
was rolling down the hill still in his underwear in the car
park.''
Earlier, police would not confirm that three Kangaroos players were
subdued with capsicum spray during the clash, despite the AFL club
admitting its players were involved.
In a separate incident, Kangaroos player Matt Campbell was
charged with resisting arrest and being drunk in a public
place early on Sunday morning.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said investigations were continuing
into the Drysdale incident.
Asked by The Age to confirm details of the Kangaroos'
statement on the involvement of its players, the spokeswoman
said: "We're still trying to find out what happened from the
police point of view before we go confirming things.''
Kangaroos' general manager of football operations Donald McDonald
said in a statement from the club that the two incidents, which
were both alcohol-related, were deeply disappointing.
"Aaron Edwards was escorted from a function on Saturday evening by
police, however he was not charged. Shannon Grant and Hamish
McIntosh were both with Edwards at the time of the incident,'' Mr
McDonald said.
"In a separate incident Matt Campbell was charged with resisting
arrest and being drunk in a public place around 1.30am on Sunday
morning.
"We will follow our code of conduct, which involves consulting with
our leadership group, in relation to both these incidents before
any further action is taken.
"Thankfully no member of the public was directly affected by either
of these incidents.
"The club will be making no further comment on these issues.''
with AAP


