Sydney co-captain Dane Rampe is free to face Fremantle on Saturday night after the AFL tribunal threw out his two-match ban for a collision that left Western Bulldog Lachie McNeil concussed.
Rampe argued the contact was nothing more than a “football incident”, declaring he hadn’t deviated from his running line and that McNeil had initiated the contact.
The tribunal agreed and dismissed his two-game rough conduct ban, a huge boost for the Swans as they look to put together a late season charge and play finals, currently 14th on the ladder.
Rampe argued he was on “high alert” after seeing a ball-carrier look to target a pass to McNeil, trying to close down the space to his opponent’s outside shoulder before he turned into him.
Rampe’s lawyer said the match review officer had “mischaracterised” the incident, as it was McNeil who changed direction, not the Sydney star.
They added merely bracing for contact was not rough conduct.
McNeil played out the match, but was later confirmed by his club to be experiencing delayed concussion.
Earlier, Carlton defender Jordan Boyd copped a three-week ban for a dangerous tackle on Port Adelaide’s Darcy Byrne-Jones after failing to convince the tribunal the impact of his hit was not ‘severe’.
Boyd pleaded guilty to rough conduct but challenged the impact grading, arguing a head clash between teammate Adam Cerra and Byrne-Jones immediately prior to the tackle contributed to his concussion.
Carlton called a doctor who said it was impossible to determine which impact had caused Byrne-Jones’ concussion, the club arguing Boyd shouldn’t be excessively punished for a tackle that might not have caused any actual injury.
But tribunal chairwoman Renee Enbom and her jury were satisfied on the balance of probabilities the tackle did affect the concussion, noting “far less impact” on the Cerra clash compared with his head hitting the ground after the tackle.
They found the impact was severe due to Byrne-Jones’ unbroken fall combined with excessive force in the slinging motion.
Boyd will miss Carlton’s games against West Coast, Collingwood and St Kilda.
