Giants star Toby Greene will find out his fate following his clash with field umpire Matt Stevic on Tuesday morning after the AFL moved the tribunal date.
According to multiple reports, the league was keen on having the tribunal hearing on Monday night, while the Giants wanted the case heard before the team’s trip to Western Australia on Tuesday afternoon ahead of this weekend’s semi-final against Geelong. The Tuesday morning timeslot is a compromise between the two.
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Greene’s tribunal hearing will now start at 9am AEST on Tuesday, with the Giants sweating on the availability of their talisman for the crunch final against the Cats.
AFL Match Review Officer Michael Christian referred the Giants star directly to the tribunal for his clash with Stevic during Saturday’s elimination final against Sydney, charging the 27-year-old with intentional umpire contact.
Greene’s clash with Stevic has split opinions all weekend, particularly given the All-Australian forward’s importance to his team.
While some of his fellow players, such as Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury and former Giants teammate Taylor Adams, have come to his defence, others have pointed the finger squarely at Greene himself.
After the Giants had a slow start to the season, Greene stepped into the captaincy role in sensational fashion in the absence of skipper Stephen Coniglio. He kicked 42 goals during the home and away season, before nailing three more majors in the Giants’ one-point elimination final win on Saturday afternoon.
However, the incident with Stevic continues what has become a lengthy rap sheet for Greene.
Greene has been charged on 22 separate occasions in his ten-year career, missing a total of eight matches through suspension and accumulating a grand total of $29,350 worth of fines due to his indiscretions.
If Greene is suspended for this weekend’s semi-final, it will not be the first big final he has misses due to a ban, after missing side’s victorious preliminary final against Collingwood in 2019.