9:40pm AEST: The tribunal upheld the MRP grading of 'medium impact' and Jeff Gleeson believes Lachie Neale's exemplary record does not warrant a downgrade of the sanction.
Lachie Neale is OUT of the AFL Grand Final - unless Brisbane opt to go to the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday. It's almost certain that they will given there remains some avenues for them to challenge the decision, which they may deem to be manifestly excessive for the act.
After more than two hours of deliberations on Tuesday evening at Marvel Stadium, the Tribunal upheld the MRP grading of an intentional, medium impact strike, rejecting Brisbane's argument that Lachie Neale's clean record warranted a downgrade to a fine.
The evening summed up:
Brisbane challenged a one-match ban handed to star midfielder Lachie Neale for a 'gut punch' on Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan during Saturday's preliminary final.
The Match Review Panel (MRP) deemed it to be an intentional and medium impact strike worthy of a one-match suspension, which would see Neale miss the AFL Grand Final against Fremantle.
Suited up for the second time in 24 hours after polling 20 Brownlow Medal votes on Monday, Neale entered the tribunal hearing at 5pm and did not learn of his verdict until after 9:15pm local time following a mammoth, high-stakes deliberation.
During the hearing, Brisbane's legal representative, Adrian Anderson, took three different approaches to Neale's defence, including:
1) that Neale's gut punch was not technically a strike, but a 'body check';
2) at the very worst should be ruled as a low impact strike, which would be a downgrade to a fine, and;
3) If the AFL insists it is a medium impact strike, Neale should be eligible to avoid a ban under 'exceptional and compelling circumstances' such as his clean record of no suspensions in 320 matches.
The 'exceptional and compelling circumstances related to Lachie Neale's clean record of 320 AFL games without suspension, with the defence lawyer even pointing out that Neale had not been banned during his time at SANFL club Glenelg.
Anderson went into great detail about Neale's 'good guy' record, mentioning that only he and Robert Harvey had won two Brownlow Medals and played at least 300 games without a ban.
Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson almost immediately rejected such an argument from the Brisbane defence, saying that a clean record has never been a suitable defence for an intentional body blow irrespective of a player's history.
During his time giving evidence to the tribunal, Neale said Ginnivan said on the phone to him that it "felt it was more of a body check than a strike", arguing that his fist was not clenched as though in the act of a punch.
Speaking to accompanying video evidence, Neale argued that Ginnivan saw Neale approaching over his left shoulder and braced for contact, with first contact made to Ginnivan's upper body.
AFL legal representative Andrew Woods disagreed, describing the "forceful swing of the arm" as "a very clear strike" and "not a football act".
Woods said the MRP was right to deem it a medium impact strike in line with changes to league guidelines in February that clarified intentional strikes could not be deemed negligible and be eligible for a financial sanction unless considered to be low impact.
He also stressed that the fact Neale is set to miss a Grand Final should not be taken into consideration by the tribunal.