Belle Dawes is free to play in Brisbane’s AFLW preliminary final after having a one-game ban for charging dismissed by the tribunal.
Two-time premiership player Dawes was slapped with the suspension after charging front-on into Hawthorn’s Ainslie Kemp in the second quarter of their qualifying final win.
Kemp was cleared of a concussion but suffered cervical whiplash, with Dawes’ act graded as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
But the tribunal overturned the ban on Wednesday after deliberating for two hours.
Tribunal chair Renee Enbom KC acknowledged Dawes had limited options during the play.
“This charge has not been an easy one to decide,” Enbom said.
“The collision did involve a lot of force, and it’s uncomfortable to watch however … Ms Dawes had few options to minimise the collision that became inevitable.”
The Lions had argued that Dawes was not charging towards Kemp or careless in her actions, with the 23-year-old saying she had opted to tackle but was too close to Kemp to do so safely.
“I didn’t want to hurt her,” Dawes said.
“My next move was to try to just get out of that situation.
“I didn’t realise I jumped at the time. I was just trying to get my head and my shoulders away from her.
“I didn’t want to get concussed either. I’ve had a few of them going in for the hardball, so I was just trying to get away.
“You could say Craig (Starcevich, Brisbane coach) wouldn’t be happy because I didn’t complete the tackle but I think in that instance I was just trying to get out of harm’s way for both of us.”
The Lions will host a preliminary final against either Adelaide or Fremantle next week, while Hawthorn play Port Adelaide in a semi-final on Saturday.
Kemp is expected to be available for the Hawks.
AAP
