RECAP: Fremantle Dockers successfully challenge captain Alex Pearce’s three-match rough conduct ban
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce’s three-match ban has been overturned at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday.
Pearce was offered a suspension for rough conduct following a collision that left Port Adelaide’s Darcy Byrne-Jones concussed during Saturday night’s clash at Optus Stadium.
The incident was graded careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, resulting in a sanction of three matches.
However, the AFl Tribunal have ruled in Pearce’s favour, dismissing the charges.
The Dockers will face Gold Coast before the bye, then North Melbourne and Essendon over the next month.
Recap proceedings in our blog.
That’s a wrap
Thank you for joining our live coverage of Alex Pearce’s AFL Tribunal challenge.
The Dockers mounted a compelling case and the AFL did not have the evidence to overcome it.
Pearce is now free to take on the Suns this weekend.
Farewell!
Free to play
The Dockers’ skipper will be free to take on the Gold Coast on Sunday in a boost for the huge clash.
Read how it happened below.
Results
Jeff Gleeson says it was “entirely realistic” that Alex Pearce thought he could mark the ball.
He says the vision supports evidence Perce never left his line, was watching the ball and moved when he finally saw Byrne-Jones.
He says the panel find the knock was “not rough conduct”.
Gleeson makes the point that it is not the Tribunal or MRO’s position that if a player gets concussed there must be a suspension.
He also concedes Pearce did not bump and did what he could to protect Byrne-Jones.
Charge dismissed!
They’re back
The panel is back and giving the verdict.
They will go back over everything they have heard before any decisions.
Fair deliberation
We are coming up on the half-hour mark since the panel closed doors to make a decision.
It could go either way, as usual with the AFL.
There was no real evidence from the AFL apart from Pearce should have known he wouldn’t get to the ball first.
However, it all depends on what precedent the Tribunal wants to set for split-second marking contests.
A suspension here could start to kill off high-flying marks and contests.
More other news
The injury news at West Coast is not good at all with Jake Waterman getting the worst possible scan results.
Read the full story at thewest.com.
In other news!
There has been an exciting development at Fremantle today with Nat Fyfe a chance to return to footy this weekend.
Read all the details at thewest.com.au.
Retired to deliberate
They are now deliberating about the final call.
There is no timeline on these decisions.
AFL firm
Ms Flynn remains firm that there was no chance Pearce could have marked the ball and that he should have slowed down much earlier or found other things to do.
She believes it renders Fremantle’s arguments mute.
Duty of care and risk of injury
Mr Hammond said the AFL need to prove or demostrate there was a practical response to the risk of injury.
And he says there was no “practical” response other than what Pearce did to precent harm.
He adds not contesting might be right for ground balls or getting players off the ball but in a mark he either goes for it because he can impact the contest or he doesn’t.
Mr Hammons says respectively not contesting the mark would be “against the spirit of the game”.
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