St Kilda veteran Nathan Brown has been hit with a three-week suspension for his late bump on Essendon defender Adam Saad in his side's loss at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
Brown was referred straight to the tribunal for the bump, with match review officer Michael Christian judging it to be intentional conduct with high impact to the head.
He will now miss the Saints' remaining two games of the season against Hawthorn and North Melbourne, as well as their first home-and-away match in 2019.
The 29-year-old backman pleaded not guilty to the charge at the tribunal on Tuesday night, attempting to have the charge downgraded to careless rather than intentional.
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Check out the incident below.
Nathan Brown has been reported for this bump on Adam Saad.#AFLDonsSaints pic.twitter.com/QZKX4K7hhe
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) August 10, 2018
Brown and his representative Ian Hill QC suggested that he was attempting to prevent Saad from following up the ball and impacting play in the forward 50.
AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson argued that Brown had plenty of time to make an alternative decision and the bump was unreasonable in the circumstances.
It took the panel around 10 minutes to reach a guilty verdict, before they deliberated over the 167-gamer's penalty for a further two minutes.
The result now leaves the struggling Saints without an important part of their defence for the final two games of the season
St Kilda sit 15th on the ladder, with four wins and one draw from their 20 matches.
