BRISBANE has taken just three minutes to confirm it will appeal the one-match ban handed to superstar Lachie Neale that could see him miss the 2026 Grand Final.

The ban was handed down for an off-the-ball strike in Saturday's thrilling preliminary final win.

Vision of the incident shows Ginnivan wrestling with Lions forward Eric Hipwood late in the first quarter, before Neale jogs over and floors the Hawthorn player with a left-handed strike to the stomach.

The incident was graded intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact.

The Match Review Officer's findings were confirmed on Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm AEST, and the Lions announced at 4.33pm that they would appeal the ban at the Tribunal this week.

If they are unsuccessful, they will be without one of their greatest-ever players for the Grand Final against Fremantle on Saturday.

With Neale expected to join Collingwood in the off-season, the ban - if upheld - would also mean the dual Brownlow medallist and two-time premiership star has played his final game for the Lions.

Nine players have been suspended for off-the-ball strikes this season after the League vowed to crackdown on the action.

At the start of the season, the AFL said incidents where a player strikes another in the chest or stomach were more likely to be graded medium impact and result in a suspension

"It will be graded, usually, as medium, at a minimum," MRO Michael Christian told AFL Daily in February. "Usually means more than 50 per cent. That's a significant change ... that will result in a week suspension.

"A strike is defined as a blow delivered with force; there's nothing about a clenched fist in there. As long as the blow is delivered with force, it doesn't matter if it's a clenched fist or a palm of the hand."

Just last week, Adelaide's Max Michalanney was unsuccessful in his attempt to overturn a one-game ban for an off-the-ball strike on Brisbane's Charlie Cameron.

The Crow was charged with striking, with the MRO grading the incident intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact, resulting in a one-match ban that was upheld at the Tribunal.

A charge of low impact rather than medium impact would have resulted in the charge being downgraded to a fine.

Adelaide forward Riley Thilthorpe and Hawthorn pair James Sicily and Dylan Moore have also been suspended over similar incidents this season.

Neale has never been suspended in his 320-game career and could use the same clause that helped games record-holder Scott Pendlebury escape suspension for his bump on Adelaide's Josh Worrell this season.

Under AFL regulations, "a player with an exemplary record may argue that their good record constitutes exceptional and compelling circumstances".

Players can no longer use the so-called "good bloke" defence that helped Brisbane's Charlie Cameron overturn a ban in 2024.

Neale's other option is to attempt to have the impact grading reduced, though that route would be unlikely to be successful.

- with AAP