Dan Houston faced the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday evening with his season on the line.
The Port Adelaide star was referred directly to the tribunal following his bump on Izak Rankine in Saturday night's Showdown which saw the Crows gun concussed and stretchered from the field.
In the MRO's weekend report, Houston's incident was graded as careless conduct, with severe impact and high contact.
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Dan Houston tribunal result
Houston has been banned for five matches.
That signals the end of his 2024 campaign and potentially his Port Adelaide career.
The club currently sits second on the ladder with one round remaining before the finals.
"I reached out to Izak after the game and apologised. I want to formally apologise again now," Houston said before the ruling as part of his tribunal statement.
"I like to think that I'm a fair player. I have never been suspended before. I've been an AFL player for nine years.
"I've played in many finals, but never in a grand final. Losing the opportunity to play in a grand final would be crushing to me."
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Despite Houston's clean suspension record, the AFL Tribunal opted to suspend the 27-year-old for five games.
Port Adelaide argued that Houston did not bump Rankine directly in the head, but the tribunal labelled the act as on the "higher level of carelessness".
"We’ve taken into account Houston's guilty plea, among other things, including his good record, his contrition and the need for consistency compared with other recent comparable tribunal decisions," the tribunal said.
"Having done so, we consider the appropriate sanction is five weeks ... his carelessness was significant, the impact was severe.
"The immediate consequences for Rankine were evident, he was concussed, it appears his shoulder was hurt and there was the potential for more serious injury.
"We do not consider the circumstances give rise to exceptional and compelling circumstances.
"We do not consider the consequence of missing finals and potentially a grand final impacts the sanction that should be imposed, particularly for such a serious breach and such a significant injury."
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Earlier at the tribunal, GWS' Lachie Ash had his one-match ban upheld.
Dan Houston trade rumours
Despite being contracted to Port Adelaide through to the end of 2027, Houston has been heavily linked with a return to his native Victoria at the end of the season.
The 2023 All Australian is reportedly courting interest from Melbourne, Hawthorn, Geelong and St Kilda.
Still just 27 and with 168 games under his belt, any club looking to acquire Houston would have to come to the trade tables with a strong hand.
Saturday's Showdown could have been Houston's last game for Port Adelaide.
