Essendon will contest a tripping charge against veteran Dustin Fletcher at the tribunal tonight.
The 35-year-old was given a one-match ban - which cannot be reduced with an early plea - after the Match Review Panel reviewed matches from the weekend.
General manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said the club would argue that Fletcher's tackling action was 'negligent' rather than 'intentional'.
""We believe Dustin was chasing Barry Hall and lunged to tackle him as he ran into goal and was not deliberately trying to trip him,"" Hamilton said.
""We will argue that this tackling action was negligent and deserved a free kick - which was awarded by the umpire - but was not intentional.""
Knights told media this morning that the club would do its best to allow Dustin to play.
""All will be born out this evening and what will be will be, but we will give it our best shot because he has been in good form and we would really love to take him up to Sydney,"" Knights said.
Charges Laid:
Dustin Fletcher, Essendon, has been charged with a Level Two tripping offence against Barry Hall, Western Bulldogs, during the second quarter of the Round 10 match between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs, played at Etihad Stadium on Friday May 28, 2010.
In summary, his previous poor record means that his one-match sanction must remain at one match, even with an early plea.
The incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of five activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Two offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. He has an existing bad record of one match suspended within the last three years, increasing the penalty by 10 per cent to 137.50 points. An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent to 103.13 points and a one-match sanction.
Sanctions Accepted:
Jonathan Brown, Brisbane Lions, has accepted a $900 sanction for misconduct in that he pulled the hair of Harry O’Brien, Collingwood, during the second quarter of the Round 10 match between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood, played at the Gabba on Saturday May 29, 2010.
Lance Franklin, Hawthorn, has accepted a one-match sanction for bumping or making forceful contact from front-on against Martin Mattner, Sydney Swans, during the fourth quarter of the Round 10 match between Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans, played at the MCG on Sunday, May 30, 2010.
Adam Selwood, West Coast, has accepted a $900 sanction for making negligent contact with an umpire (Ray Chamberlain) during the second quarter of the Round 10 match between West Coast and Carlton, played at Etihad Stadium on Sunday May 30, 2010.
Other incidents assessed:
Contact between Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin and the Sydney Swans’ Gary Rohan from the fourth quarter of Sunday’s match was assessed. The panel said that Franklin was moving in to guard the mark with his arms outstretched, should the Sydney player move off his line. It was determined that Franklin was attempting to stop his momentum to guard the mark, when contact was made, and there was no deliberate trip.
Contact involving Fremantle’s Hayden Ballantyne from the fourth quarter of Sunday’s match was assessed. The panel said that Ballantyne’s arm was briefly grabbed, forcing him to lose balance and fall backward. He did not intimate contact was made to the head. No further action was taken.
