Ben Long is at the AFL Tribunal tonight, appealing the brutal hit that sparked fiery scenes in Collingwood’s win over Gold Coast. Live from approx. 7:30pm AEST!
Long challenged his two-game suspension for rough conduct after what was widely branded a cheap shot to the guts of Brayden Maynard. It was graded as intentional with high impact and body contact.
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If Long is able to downgrade the impact from high to medium, or the conduct from intentional to careless, that would typically warrant a one-game ban instead. If he can win on both fronts Long could merely be fined.
The hit on Maynard, which occurred just seconds before halftime, led to the melee which saw 21 players offered fines.
Maynard and Touk Miller, meanwhile, were offered $5000 misconduct fines for making umpire contact. Those charges were unsurprisingly accepted.
In the first hearing of the night (6pm AEST), the Western Bulldogs’ Matt Kennedy is appealing a one-game ban for forceful front-on contact on Sydney’s Caiden Cleary.
It was graded as careless with medium impact and high contact.
Follow live updates from the Tribunal below!