Sydney defender Heath Grundy will miss Saturday’s AFL qualifying final against Adelaide after an unsuccessful trip to the tribunal.

Grundy travelled to Melbourne for Tuesday’s tribunal hearing, but the jury upheld his one-game ban for striking Geelong key forward James Podsiadly.

The Swans argued in the one-hour hearing that the force of the blow was not enough to warrant a strike.

They also said that if the three-man jury decided it was a strike, it should be downgraded from intentional to reckless.

That would have let Grundy escape with a reprimand.

But the jury ruled against him on the charge and the grading.

Grundy’s absence will be a major blow for the Swans defence against Crows key forwards Kurt Tippett and Taylor Walker.

The Swans were not risking a heavier ban for Grundy by going to the tribunal.