Brisbane's Neale loses tribunal appeal, ruled out of AFL grand final
The Guardian
The short version
- Lachie Neale's one-match ban for striking Jack Ginnivan was upheld by the AFL tribunal
- The incident occurred in the preliminary final between Brisbane and Hawthorn
- Neale had never been suspended in 320 career games
- His claim of exceptional and compelling circumstances, citing the Scott Pendlebury precedent, was rejected
The Lions midfielder will sit out Saturday's decider after the AFL tribunal upheld his one-match ban for striking Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan.
Brisbane Lions midfielder Lachie Neale will miss Saturday's AFL grand final after the league tribunal upheld a one-match suspension for striking Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan during last week's preliminary final.
The tribunal found the two-time Brownlow medallist guilty of intentional striking. He had argued that his spotless record over 320 career games, without a single prior suspension, met the standard of exceptional and compelling circumstances that had previously allowed Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury to escape a ban this year.
That argument was rejected, leaving Neale unavailable for the grand final and Brisbane without one of their leading midfielders for the biggest match of the season.
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Written by the Matchday Live desk from reporting by The Guardian.
Read the original report at The Guardian ↗