Carlton ahead Matthew Owies will miss his facet’s elimination remaining towards Brisbane after the AFL tribunal upheld a one-match ban for a harmful sort out on St Kilda’s Jack Higgins.
The 27-year-old’s failure to overturn his suspension is a significant blow to the Blues, who will miss Owies’s abilities in entrance of objective.
His 33 targets this season have been essential in serving to his facet sneaking into the finals in eighth place.
Owies had been charged with careless conduct, medium affect and excessive contact for the driving sort out, regardless that an identical sort out from Western Bulldogs defender Liam Jones on Aaron Cadman on Sunday had been met with solely a superb.
Higgins returned to the sector quickly after the sort out, having been cleared of concussion signs.
Owies additionally gained a free kick for the sort out, with Higgins disposing of the ball incorrectly.
Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson stated Owies’s sort out was unreasonable and had the potential to trigger damage, regardless that Higgins was unhurt.
“We discover that this was tough conduct and that the grading is careless, excessive contact and medium affect,” he stated.
Owies instructed the tribunal he loosened his grip on Higgins’s arms as they have been going to floor however was unable to right away launch his maintain as they have been shifting too quick.
His membership’s lawyer, Peter O’Farrell, stated his problem was no extra impactful than Jones’s sort out on Cadman.
“The extent of drive was minimal from Owies, we’d submit,” he stated.
Nick Pane, representing the AFL, stated Owies might have launched Higgins’s arms after he had launched the ball, permitting the tackled participant to brace his fall.
“This was an inherently harmful sort out, and the drive with which participant Higgins’s head hit the bottom meant that there was potential to trigger a extra severe damage,” he stated.
After the tribunal returned its responsible verdict within the early hours of Wednesday morning, O’Farrell argued Owies’s penalty ought to be lowered due to distinctive and compelling circumstances.
Particularly, he had an exemplary file and will entice gamers to AFL from basketball on account of his background taking part in the sport.
The tribunal retired to deliberate, once more, earlier than saying they weren’t happy that the circumstances have been distinctive or compelling sufficient to overturn the ban.
Owies’s listening to, which was initially scheduled to kick off at 8pm Melbourne time, was delayed till 10pm after the night’s earlier listening to for Demons ahead Kysaiah Pickett lasted a mammoth three hours.
Pickett will miss the primary three video games of the 2025 AFL season after failing to overturn a three-match suspension for a bump on Collingwood’s Darcy Moore.
The problem throughout the Demons’ 46-point defeat on Friday night time, which pressured the Magpies captain from the sector with concussion, was judged as careless conduct, extreme affect and excessive contact.
“We’re required to think about whether or not there was unreasonable conduct that was prone to trigger damage,” Mr Gleeson stated.
“We discover that there was.”
Melbourne missed out on finals following their 14th-placed end, so the ban carries over into subsequent yr.
Pickett apologised to Moore for the damage and stated he didn’t count on him to go to floor so rapidly.
“My intention was to guard house by taking Darcy off the road and win the ball in entrance of me,” he stated.
“That is the traditional means I’ve contested the ball and made a play on the ball in different video games.”
It is not the primary time Pickett’s bumping has bought him into bother.
Pickett missed Melbourne’s first sport of this season after being banned for a excessive bump on Patrick Cripps in final yr’s semi-final loss to Carlton.
He additionally obtained a one-match ban for a bump on Adelaide’s Jake Soligo in Collect Spherical.
AAP
