\n Tigers forward will miss the start of the season\n <\/p>\n
Mykelti Lefau looks on during the R12 match between Richmond and Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on June 01, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
RICHMOND has suspended Mykelti Lefau for their season opener against Carlton after the forward was caught drink-driving.<\/p>\n
Victoria Police confirmed Lefau, 27, was pulled over in East Malvern in the early hours of Saturday morning and allegedly blew .108 – more than double the legal blood alcohol limit.<\/p>\n
He will have a delayed start to the AFL season after the Tigers imposed a two-match ban, taking in their AAMI Community Series match against Melbourne in Ballarat on Friday, plus the Blues clash at the MCG on March 12.<\/p>\n
Lefau, who has had his driving licence revoked for 10 months, will also have to make a $2,500 donation to a charity and undergo alcohol behavioural change counselling.<\/p>\n
Mykelti Lefau handpasses the ball during Richmond’s pre-season training session at Punt Road Oval on November 14, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
“We are extremely disappointed with Mykelti’s actions, and he is fully aware that his poor judgement put both himself and the community at risk,” Richmond CEO Shane Dunne said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“Mykelti will now be suspended for two matches and undergo counselling to ensure he will learn from this mistake.<\/p>\n
“We will continue to support Mykelti across this period to ensure his well-being.<\/p>\n
“He understands he has let his teammates and the club down and will address them all tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
Mykelti Lefau celebrates during the round five match between West Coast and Richmond at Optus Stadium, April 14, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
Lefau had been firming to start in round one after kicking three goals in the Tigers’ pre-season match simulation against Essendon last week, following a frustrating run with injury.<\/p>\n
The forward kicked 14 goals in 10 games in his first season in 2024, which was prematurely ended by an ACL tear.<\/p>\n
Lefau then suffered a calf injury in his return match last year.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old expressed remorse for the incident.<\/p>\n
“I made a really poor choice, and I am deeply embarrassed by what has taken place,” Lefau said.<\/p>\n
“It is unacceptable by any standard and it won’t happen again. I apologise to my club, my teammates and our fans.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tigers forward will miss the start of the season Mykelti Lefau looks on during the R12 match between…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,83,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-498427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-text","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}