AFL: Lachie Neale will miss this weekend’s grand final against Fremantle after an extraordinary tribunal hearing on Tuesday night that lasted more than four hours.
The Brisbane star is fronting the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday afternoon as he looks to overturn a one-match ban for striking that currently has him missing Saturday’s clash against Fremantle.
The verdict looms as a significant one for the grand final, with Neale one of the Lions’ most prominent midfield stars in the match-up with his former club.
Follow all the developments from the hearing below, with proceedings set to get underway at 3pm WA time.
Key Events
End of the Lion
As an aside to this week, the suspension also means Neale won’t get a proper Brisbane farewell with his move to Collingwood all but confirmed.
His last game will have been the preliminary win, ending his eight-year stint with the Lions
Explainer
Here’s how the dramatic hearing unfolded and the key points that were made.
Brisbane could appeal
The Lachie Neale saga is not over with Brisbane having that right to appeal.
Who knows what could happen in that scenario, as we’d be in Andrew Dunkley 1996 territory.
Lachie Neale’s ban is upheld
“This is an intentional strike; the provision of exceptional circumstances has never been used in that context,” Gleeson explains.
“This is not the first occasion in which Neale has been found to have struck his opponent.
“The purpose of the guideline is to stamp out this contact, and Neale ignored it.”
That is a massive call.
It’s all going to come down to the exceptional circumstances
“We have no difficuly in finding this was an intentional strike and medium impact,” Gleeson explains.
“Ginnivan doubles over in a manner that is consistent with being struck and of a significant impact, nor did he accentuate contact.
“We place little weight on the hearsay evidence from Ginnivan; a strike can occur with an open hand or arm.
“This was to use the common vernacular a strike to the guts. There is no doubt in our mind this should be medium impact.”
We’re back,
It’s happening!
Gleeson says he’s conscious of the time he’s taken, which is nice.
Andrew Dillon weighs in
The deliberation has now taken longer than the hearing which is something.
Andrew Dillon has shared his thoughts on Agenda Setters.
We’ve officially passed the four-mark
Craig O’Donoghue says he would be happy to run a four-hour marathon.
Toby Greene’s tribunal over intentional umpire contact in 2021 took more than four hours; that’s the only other one I can think of.
You thought last night was a drag
It was a slog towards the end of Brownlow night with Nick Daicos having an age to rehearse his speech.
This has lasted more than an hour longer than that count took.
Fun Fact No.3
This Tribunal hearing has now gone on longer than the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring.
We’re slowly closing in on the extended edition of The Two Towers, which lasts 3 hours and 55 minutes.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails