AFL: Dylan Shiel two week bump ban upheld by Tribunal

Essendon's Dylan Shiel will be sitting on the sidelines for the next fortnight after failing to have his bump ban overturned.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 03: Dylan Shiel of the Bombers celebrates winning the round 5 AFL match between the Collingwood Magpies and he Essendon Bombers at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 03, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Essendon's midfield superstar Dylan Shiel's attempt to have his two-week ban overturned has fallen flat.

The Bombers opted to fight the charge handed down by the Match Review Panel that Shiel's high hit on North Melbourne's Curtis Taylor was not high impact, instead arguing it should have been graded as medium.

A medium charge would have handed Shiel a one-week ban, instead of two.

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But after a lengthy deliberation between Shiel's team and the AFL counsel, the jury stuck with the findings of the MRP and kept the ban at two weeks.

Jury members in Dylan Shiel’s hearing have rejected Essendon’s bid to reduce the impact from high to medium.

“Fortunate consequences not greater for Curtis Taylor.”

— Marc McGowan (@ByMarcMcGowan) July 14, 2020

The Bombers attempted to have the grading downgraded and used Taylor's medical report as a key piece of evidence to help their fight.

Taylor was treated for concussion and required on-field assessment. But after leaving the ground for 20 minutes he returned to play. Scans of his jaw showed no fracture and he is expected to be cleared to play this weekend. 

Shiel also argued on the grounds of his exceptional AFL record.

"I love watching midfielders. I idolise ball-winners and ball-players. I've really modelled my game off contesting the ball first and really having full focus on winning the ball fairly. I've never committed any offence that would suggest that my attention is on the man before the ball. I'd like to think that I'm a fair player, a clean player, and that I've proven that in my nine-year career until the weekend," Shiel said.

The Bombers pointed the panel to the 2017 incident between Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and Shiel which resulted in Cotchin not receiving a ban.

"It changed the way I needed to approach contesting the ball in a 50-50 contest. I received a lot of coaching in my remaining time at the Giants from Lenny Hayes and Leon Cameron in how to best approach that contest, and not leaving my head exposed to contact from the opposing player. I've spent a lot of time on improving my technique, in protecting myself from an incident like that not happening again. I've also had to make an adjustment due to three significant shoulder operations during my career," Shiel said.

Unfortunately after all of the evidence and despite Shiel's clean record, the jury found the bump was high impact, not medium, which resulted in the two-match ban being upheld. 

In a last ditch effort, the Bombers called on former coach Mark Williams as a character witness in one last appeal. Those efforts also failed for the Bombers and Shiel will now miss games against the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide Crows.

The AFL Tribunal has upheld Dylan Shiel's two-game ban.

Shiel will miss our games against the Bulldogs and Crows. pic.twitter.com/RFpHXE0amJ

— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) July 14, 2020

Originally published as AFL: Dylan Shiel two week bump ban upheld by Tribunal