It didn't take much more than Adelaide's medical report for Luke McDonald's fate to be sealed at the AFL Tribunal.
The Kangaroos will now be without McDonald for their Good Friday clash with Essendon after the defender's one-match suspension was upheld by the Tribunal on Tuesday night.
McDonald was slapped with a one-game ban over a late spoil attempt which left Adelaide young gun Chayce Jones nursing a concussion.
Chayce Jones will take no further part in tonight's match after this contest with Luke McDonald.#AFLNorthCrows pic.twitter.com/Fhy5s2o6oy
— AFL (@AFL) April 13, 2019
Adelaide's medical report said Jones was now in the normal concussion protocol and remains a chance to miss Sunday's clash with the Suns.
At the Tribunal, according to the AFL's legal counsel Jeff Gleeson QC, that alone would have fit the bill for a medium grading.
Gleeson said McDonald "could and should" have stopped, and argued McDonald had "no reasonable prospect" of spoiling.
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In McDonald's defence, North Melbourne attempted to argue that contact with Jones' head was incidental as McDonald continued to reach for the ball, and that he should receive a low grading, not medium.
All up, it took a 22-minute hearing and 23 minutes of deliberation by the Tribunal to find McDonald guilty of rough conduct.
The medium impact grading was upheld, and McDonald will miss the Easter long weekend clash.
A "disappointed" McDonald told reporters afterwards that he walked into the Tribunal expecting to leave free to play.
"I thought we had a pretty good case to get off... I just hope that Chayce is alright and that he can get up this weekend," he said.
"I'm really disappointed. This week is a massive day for the club and I won't be out there."
Adelaide's weekend opposition Gold Coast is likely to be without Wil Powell, with Carlton's Will Setterfield rubbed out for two matches over a dangerous tackle.
Charged as rough conduct, Setterfield's tackle was assessed as careless conduct with high impact and high contact, with Powell's head hitting the ground in the tackle.
Wil Powell is currently undergoing a medical assessment after this tackle from Will Setterfield. #AFLSunsBlues pic.twitter.com/tOKQDJESuN
— AFL (@AFL) April 14, 2019
However, Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield escaped with a fine over an off-the-ball incident in his side's loss to GWS on Saturday.
