Brisbane will appeal the AFL tribunal’s decision to uphold Lachie Neale’s one-match ban in a bid to keep the star midfielder’s grand final hopes alive.
Neale copped the suspension for striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan on Monday before a marathon tribunal hearing on Tuesday night ended in disappointment.
The Lions will now take it to the AFL appeals board, which has limited grounds for a challenge.
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Brisbane leaned on Neale’s exemplary record, having never previously been suspended in his 320-game career, but the tribunal noted it was “not the first occasion on which Neale has been found to have struck his opponent”.
The tribunal chair also noted the purpose of the AFL’s so-called gut-punch law, also introduced this year. Nine other players had been banned for the offence this season.
“The purpose of the guideline is to stamp out this very sort of conduct. Neale ignored it and he knew the consequences,” Gleeson said.
“Being of Neale’s outstanding record does not render a one-match suspension for that act inappropriate or unreasonable.”
The Lions can argue against an error of law, that the decision was unreasonable or it was a manifestly excessive or inadequate classification or sanction.
Neale’s father Robbie told ABC radio on Wednesday that the dual Brownlow medallist would have been “in two minds” about an appeal.
“Lachie won’t want the distraction for the team … I’m sure he’ll get the right advice,” Robbie said.
“To me it’s just plain wrong, so I hope they do appeal it.”
More to come…
