BREAKING: Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale will miss Saturday’s grand final against Fremantle after the AFL tribunal upheld his one-match suspension.
As previously reported, the Brisbane Lions pledged to appeal the decision, which followed an off-the-ball strike during Saturday’s preliminary final against Hawthorn.
Footage of the incident shows Jack Ginnivan wrestling with Lions forward Eric Hipwood late in the first quarter, before Neale runs over and strikes Ginnivan in the stomach.
Ginnivan then fell to the ground.
In a mammoth hearing, Neale argued he did not strike Jack Ginnivan. He then said that if the tribunal felt he did strike the player, the level of contact was low impact instead of medium.
He also argued that if the tribunal believed he was guilty, he should still be free to play due to having no previous suspensions, which he said should be classified as exceptional and compelling circumstances.
After a two-hour hearing and more than two hours of deliberations, the tribunal decided to uphold Neale’s suspension.
