GWS star Hogan cleared after striking charge deemed ‘negligible’

Greater Western Sydney forward Jesse Hogan is free to play this week after the Giants overturned his suspension at the tribunal in a case that drew comparisons to Patrick Cripps’ Brownlow-saving appeal in 2022.

The Giants used the league’s conflicting tribunal guidelines regarding strikes to clear the Coleman Medal leader to face Brisbane on Thursday night despite the spearhead admitting he had made contact to the face of Carlton defender Lewis Young during Saturday’s game.

Hogan’s challenge was at risk of being sunk under changes made this year regarding accidental head-high contact from fends being deemed as intentional, but he needed to have committed a reportable offence for this to apply.

The case dramatically swung in Hogan’s favour after a direction from tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson to his co-panellists Darren Gaspar and Scott Stevens that a strike needed to be of more than negligible force to be deemed a reportable offence, and the potential to cause injury cannot result in negligible impact being upgraded.

The AFL’s appeals board sensationally cleared Carlton skipper Cripps of rough conduct in 2022 after the Blues mounted a legalistic argument that the directions provided to the tribunal panel were not procedurally fair.

It paved the way for Cripps to poll the maximum three votes in the final round to clinch the league’s highest individual honour.

Hogan told the tribunal he had been perplexed when told by Young moments after their clash he would be suspended for making head-high contact.

The Giants, represented by Anais d’Arville, said Hogan had brushed Young’s face with a “slight bit of palm”, a view the tribunal shared.

The AFL, through Andrew Woods, said Young should not have been expecting contact in the goal square from Hogan for a boundary throw-in about 30 metres from goal.