Brisbane's Lachie Neale fails in marathon tribunal bid, ruled out of AFL grand final
Brisbane's Lachie Neale lost his AFL tribunal challenge and will serve a one-match ban, ruling him out of Saturday's grand final against Fremantle.
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The AFL tribunal rejected Brisbane's bid to overturn Lachie Neale's one-match suspension on Tuesday, ending the dual Brownlow medallist's bid to play in Saturday's grand final against Fremantle.
Neale was cited for striking Jack Ginnivan during the first quarter of Brisbane's preliminary final win over Hawthorn, with the incident graded as intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact by match review officer Michael Christian.
If the suspension stands, Neale will be sidelined from the premiership match against his former club and miss the chance to claim a third consecutive flag.
Tribunal upholds one-match ban after near five-hour hearing
The AFL tribunal rejected Brisbane's bid to overturn Lachie Neale's one-match suspension on Tuesday, ending the dual Brownlow medallist's bid to play in Saturday's grand final against Fremantle. The case stretched across a marathon sitting that approached five hours, with the panel deliberating for more than 100 minutes before maintaining the original sanction.
Charge graded as intentional strike with medium impact
Neale was cited for striking Jack Ginnivan during the first quarter of Brisbane's preliminary final win over Hawthorn, with the incident graded as intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact by match review officer Michael Christian. At the hearing, Neale told the tribunal he "body checked" Ginnivan and believed Ginnivan "took a bit of a dive," denying that he threw a strike. The charge stemmed from an off-ball confrontation that followed a physical altercation between Brisbane forward Eric Hipwood and Ginnivan.
'Exceptional and compelling circumstances' plea rejected
Brisbane argued that Neale's clean record across 320 career games, his two Brownlow Medals, and his standing as a premiership captain should constitute exceptional and compelling circumstances warranting a downgrade to a fine. The club also pointed to inconclusive vision as a basis to reduce the grading. The tribunal did not accept either argument, distinguishing the case from the successful appeal by Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury earlier in the year, whose careless-conduct ruling did not translate to an intentional-strike charge.
Lions weigh last-ditch appeals board option
With the tribunal ruling upheld, Brisbane retain the option of taking the matter to the AFL Appeals Board in a final attempt to free their star midfielder before the MCG decider. If the suspension stands, Neale will be sidelined from the premiership match against his former club and miss the chance to claim a third consecutive flag.
