AFL tribunal upholds Lachie Neale's grand final ban

Lachie Neale's hopes of playing in the AFL grand final have been dashed after the AFL tribunal upheld his one-match ban.

The Brisbane Lions star was found guilty of striking Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan during last Saturday night's preliminary final, and despite a spirited defence, the tribunal decided not to apply the "exceptional and compelling clause" to downgrade his penalty from a ban to a fine.

A guilty verdict, but a harsh sentence?

Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson KC said the guilty verdict was the easy part, but deciding whether to apply the exceptional and compelling clause was the hard part.

"There are matters trending both ways on this issue," Gleeson said.

Neale's evidence was rejected by Gleeson as "inconsistent". Neale insisted he did not strike Ginnivan, but rather bumped or body-checked him.

"It was more a bump or body-check," Neale said.

"Ginnivan might have taken a bit of a dive to get a free kick".

The tribunal did not buy the argument, finding that Neale's actions were "a forceful blow delivered with a swinging arm and an open hand".

Video footage played a crucial role

The only video footage of the incident was long-range and grainy, but the tribunal found it clear that Neale had delivered a strike to the guts.

"It is the case that there is no single frame in the vision that shows Neale's hand or lower arm making contact with Ginnivan's abdomen," Gleeson said.

"When played at normal speed, it appears clear to us that this was, to use the common vernacular, a strike to the guts."

Exceptional circumstances clause not applied

The tribunal considered Neale's record, which his barrister compared to Scott Pendlebury's.

However, Gleeson noted that Pendlebury was charged with rough conduct, while Neale was charged with striking.

"This is not the first occasion on which Neale has been found to have struck his opponent," Gleeson said.

The tribunal chair also noted the purpose of the AFL's so-called gut-punch law, introduced this year to stamp out this type of conduct.

"The purpose of the guideline is to stamp out this very sort of conduct. Neale ignored it, and he knew the consequences," Gleeson said.

"Being of Neale's outstanding record does not render a one-match suspension for that act inappropriate or unreasonable."