The Western Bulldogs will almost certainly become the first club in AFLW history to go to the tribunal as they look to free Katie Brennan for Saturday’s grand final.
The club will announce on Tuesday morning if they will go to the tribunal to fight a rough conduct charge levelled at Brennan, but it can be safely assumed they will.
Clubs have until 11am on Tuesday mornings to notify the league if they will challenge a finding. An AFL spokesman confirmed Brennan’s case will be heard on Tuesday night if required.
Brennan was charged over a sling tackle on Harriet Cordner during the Dogs’ tense win over Melbourne on Saturday night.
Cordner was shaken but able to play out the game after she was awarded a free kick.
But AFL match review officer Michael Christian offered Brennan a one-game ban with an early guilty plea, which would see her miss Saturday’s decider against the Brisbane Lions at Ikon Park.
“It would be absolutely devastating … but what’s done is done,” Brennan said of the prospect of missing her side’s first-ever grand final, speaking before Christian handed down his finding.
“It was an accident and I apologised to Harriet.”
Christian, who fully expects the club to take their case to the tribunal, took a different view.
He assessed the fourth-quarter incident at Whitten Oval as careless conduct with low impact to the head.
The offence would have drawn a reprimand on its own, but it was Brennan’s second classifiable offence of the season, which increased the penalty.
“You’re aware, obviously, of the implications but focused on trying to do the right thing,” Christian said of his decision-making process.
“No one likes to see anyone miss a grand final, but my job is to uphold the rules and the guidelines and in this particular case I think Katie breached those guidelines.”
Brennan’s suspension will be increased to two games if she unsuccessfully argues her case at the tribunal.