An injury-hit GWS is making a desperate bid to have stars Toby Greene and Jesse Hogan available for their Anzac Day blockbuster against Brisbane at the AFL Tribunal. Live from 5pm AEST!
Already missing Sam Taylor and Stephen Coniglio, the Giants are keen to have their captain and gun forward available following last weekend’s loss to Carlton.
Hogan’s hearing is taking place first, with the in-form key forward challenging a one-match striking ban for his hit on Carlton’s Lewis Young.
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The incident was graded as intentional, due to being off the ball, with low impact and high contact resulting in a one-match ban.
The Giants are likely to challenge the grading by claiming the initial contact was to the body and then slid high, and/or by claiming the impact was not enough to even warrant the low grading.
“I don’t think Jesse Hogan should be missing a week for that,” St Kilda champion Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy’s The First Crack.
“I know what they’re trying to do the AFL, but these sorts of pushes and shoves and they accidentally slip high, there’s no damage done there.”
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Greene’s incident may be even more contentious, with his collision with Jordan Boyd declared rough conduct much like Peter Wright’s bump on Harry Cunningham – though Boyd was not injured.
“Even though I still believe those actions are an instinctive, reflex motion,” Montagna said.
“You can’t plan to adjust in that moment.”
But North Melbourne dual premiership player David King responded: “If you have time to brace, you have time to take some other sort of evasive action that doesn’t put the other bloke in hospital.”
The incident was graded as careless, with medium impact and high contact, resulting in a one-match ban.
The Giants are unlikely to be able to be able to downgrade the impact grading, with hits to the head being upgraded due to the potential to cause serious injury, but will likely argue the incident was not rough conduct because it was not a bump.
West Coast’s Tom Barrass will challenge his one-match rough conduct ban on Wednesday at 1pm AEST/11am AWST.
Follow the Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene Tribunal appeals in our live blog below!
