Port Adelaide’s Dan Houston is making a last-ditch attempt to be available for a potential Grand Final at the AFL Appeal Board.
The All-Australian defender will have likely played his last game for the club – given his interest in being traded to Victoria – if his five-game suspension for a bump on Adelaide’s Izak Rankine is upheld.
On Tuesday night, the Tribunal found Houston made a “significant” breach of his duty of care when he made “forceful contact to Rankine’s upper shoulder and neck”.
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They took into account his good record, guilty plea and contrition, along with the fact he didn’t actually make contact to the head; yet still handed Houston a five-game ban which will rule him out for the entire finals series, no matter how Port Adelaide goes.
In his statement to the Tribunal, Houston begged for lenience, saying: “I’ve played in many finals, but never in a grand final. Losing the opportunity to play in a grand final would be crushing to me.”
If the Power can downgrade Houston’s ban to four weeks, he would be eligible for a Grand Final if the Power lose their qualifying final yet win their way through.
Rankine suffered both a concussion and an AC joint (shoulder) injury in the incident and will miss Round 24, thus making the Crows superstar ineligible for the All-Australian team, given he has not played enough games this AFL season.
The Power can argue on four grounds at the Appeal Board:
1. An error of law that had a material impact on the decision of the Tribunal has occurred;
2. The decision of the Tribunal is so unreasonable that no Tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it;
3. The classification of the offence by the Tribunal was manifestly excessive or inadequate; or
4. The sanction imposed by the Tribunal was manifestly excessive or inadequate.
Follow David Zita’s coverage of the Dan Houston AFL Appeal Board hearing live below from 6pm AEST!
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