Port Adelaide to appeal Dan Houston’s five-match suspension for rough conduct

Port Adelaide will appeal star defender Dan Houston’s five-match suspension, leaving the door ajar for him to feature in the club’s finals campaign should it be successful.

Port Adelaide will appeal Dan Houston’s suspension in the hope the star defender can be available for its premiership tilt.

Houston received a five-match ban for the Showdown bump that concussed Izak Rankine, ruling the Power star out for the rest of the season in a big blow for the finals-bound club.

If Port Adelaide – which argued for three games at Tuesday night’s tribunal hearing – was able to reduce the sanction, the All-Australian half-back could return late in the major round.

The Power took until just before Wednesday’s 11.30am deadline to decide it would challenge the outcome.

Houston’s appeal hearing is expected to be held on Thursday.

Appeals can be made on errors of law that have a material impact on the tribunal outcome; the tribunal’s decision being so unreasonable that no reasonable tribunal could have come to it with the evidence before it; or due to the offence classification or the sanction handed down being manifestly excessive or inadequate.

Izak Rankine is tended to be trainers after Dan Houston’s bump. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Houston is one of the most important players for the Power, which has locked in a top-four spot ahead of its last minor round clash against Fremantle in Perth on Sunday.

He has the AFL’s highest kick rating this year, according to Champion Data, has generated more points than anyone from rebound 50 chains and is part of Port’s leadership group.

The Power’s tribunal case for the 27-year-old centred on there being uncertainty if he made contact with Rankine’s head, the incident being graded as a careless and Houston having a good record across 168 games.

Houston potentially missing a grand final due to a lengthy ban was another one of the club’s arguments.

A remorseful Houston told the tribunal he regretted deciding to bump Rankine, did not mean to hurt him and apologised to him post-game.

Houston was banned for five weeks on Tuesday night. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“Losing the opportunity to play in a grand final would be crushing to me,” Houston said.

The tribunal was satisfied that the Victorian made contact with Rankine’s upper shoulder and neck.

Missing the grand final did not come into consideration.

Rankine returned to Crows training on Wednesday, completing light work as he progressed through concussion protocols.

He is unavailable for Adelaide’s season-ending match against Sydney at the SCG on Saturday night.

Houston is expected to request a trade back to Victoria so may have played his last game for the Power if his suspension is not reduced.

His ban is the second-longest in the AFL this year, behind St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster seven-match sanction for an ugly pre-season bump on North Melbourne co-captain Jy Simpkin.