GILBERT GARDINER reports…
Brisbane Lions star Harris Andrews torched any chance of beating a one-match ban for striking North Melbourne's Nick Larkey with an admission he heard the Kangaroos' "teeth clatter".
In "honest" but damning evidence, Andrews told the AFL Tribunal he raised his left arm to protect space.
"On my way through I clipped his hand and hit him high," Andrews said.
"I felt his teeth clatter."
Andrews turned and apologised to Larkey as soon as play stopped.
"I knew as soon as the whistle was blown … (I) saw Larkey clutching at his throat and apologised to him … I wanted to make sure he was OK."
Harris will miss Brisbane’s upcoming clash with Hawthorn in Launceston.
Under cross-examination Andrews, who pleaded not guilty, said Larkey came at him in a blocking motion.
"I didn't go out of my way … he came to me," Lions vice-captain Harris said.
The Tribunal deliberated for less than five minutes, before returning a guilty verdict.
The Lions failed in a bid to argue Harris had braced for contact as opposed to striking the Kangaroos forward.
The club also attempted to have the case tossed out on grounds of force.
Gun AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson QC, in schooling Lions legal representative Gavin Handran, shot down the suggestions "shock" caused Larkey to "buckle at the knees".
Gleeson also led the Tribunal down a path to dismiss a statement from Larkey exonerating Andrews.
Handran's assertion the incident should be considered a "collision … initiated by Mr Larkey" also fell flat.
Tribunal chairman Ross Howie dismissed the notion contact was a result of a deflection.
“A strike is a strike,” Howie said.
Vision of the incident, including snippets in slow motion, did the Lions no favours, clearing showing Andrews flick a forearm towards Larkey's throat.
AFL match review officer Michael Christian originally found the incident to be intentional with low impact to the head.
