Western Bulldogs skipper Katie Brennan will miss AFLW grand final

AFL DAILY: A ‘GUTTED’ Katie Brennan will not play in this weekend’s AFL Women’s Grand Final following a historic and explosive night at the tribunal. RECAP

A “GUTTED” Katie Brennan will not play in this weekend’s AFL Women’s grand final following a historic and explosive night at the tribunal.

The Western Bulldogs skipper was found guilty of rough conduct for her tackle on Demon Harriet Cordner before club advocate Sam Norton attempted to play his final ace – arguing that Brennan’s role as a “trailblazer” in AFL Women’s and the fact she would miss a grand final were exceptional and compelling circumstances that warrated a reduced penalty. NO CHANGE: WHY THE PIES AREN’T CHANGING PLANS TOUGH RUN: HOGAN REFLECTS ON TOUGH YEAR BANNER FUN: WHAT SHOULD YOUR CLUB’S R1 BANNER BE? Ultimately, the tribunal deemed that it was not and the star forward would serve the entirety of her two-match ban. “I’m gutted with the decision,” a visibly emotional Brennan said after the lengthy hearing. “I’ll support the club in whatever they choose to do going forward and I’ll be able to play my role come game day. “We’ve proved that the girls don’t need myself out on the field to win games and I’ll back them 100 per cent in. I’ll be able to play a really important role come game day.” The door is now ajar for an appeal, with the Bulldogs set to face Brisbane at Ikon Park in three days’ time. An AFL Appeals Board hearing could be held on Thursday night. The Western Bulldogs would have to show an error of law, manifestly excessive sanction, manifestly excessive or inadequate classification or that the decision was so unreasonable that no tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it. Brennan plead not guilty to the charge of rough conduct – careless conduct with low impact to the head – at the beginning of the 90-minute hearing, in which Norton attempted to argue that the tackle was not unreasonable in the circumstances and that Brennan had implemented a tackle as she had been trained to do. “She shouldn’t miss a Grand Final for this,” Norton declared. In giving evidence, Brennan said she had received training after her rough conduct reprimand in Round 1. “Yes – with Andrew Shakespeare our development coach.,” she said on the stand. “Working on technique of the tackle and making sure that I was learning from the last time. “We work on getting in tight with the body, wrapping our arms around, dropping at the knees and making sure that we’re protecting the player and not falling into the back of the player, also.” Her second reprimand for the season – delivered by match review officer Michael Christian on Monday – had automatically triggered a two-match ban for Brennan, reduced to one with an early guilty plea, due to her recording the previous reprimand earlier in the season. Brennan argued that Cordner’s momentum contributed to the tackle, its speed and Cordner hitting the ground. She said when she heard the whistle, she thought she had won a free kick for Cordner holding the ball. Brennan says she apologised to Cordner, and that there had been no remonstration from Demons players. “Because I am mates with Harriet and if I caused her some pain, I was apologising.” The AFL counsel argued firmly that the action – as stated in tribunal guidelines – was unreasonable in the circumstances and that Brennan’s standing in the game did not warrant exceptional and compelling circumstances worthy of avoiding suspension. It also argued that taking the fact that she will miss a grand final into account would set an unwanted precedent and that deterring factors must be present. It was the first time that a suspension has been challenged at the tribunal. RECAP THE TRIBUNAL HEARING AND ALL TODAY’S AFL NEWS IN THE BLOG BELOW

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