NORTH Melbourne veteran Brent Harvey will be sidelined for the Kangaroos' opening final after the Tribunal slapped him with a three-match ban on Tuesday night for a double-barrelled misconduct charge.
Harvey, who was sent direct to the Tribunal, pleaded guilty to flipping Western Bulldogs tagger Liam Picken to the ground in Sunday's clash.
However, he argued that his subsequent forearm to Picken's throat was not an act of misconduct.
He will miss North Melbourne's final two home-and-away matches as well as just their second final in six seasons, with the jury of Wayne Henwood, David Neitz and David Pittman handing him a penalty of 341 points.
Harvey is set to miss games against Adelaide and Melbourne, as well as week one of the finals, should the Kangaroos qualify as expected.
North Melbourne is considering an appeal.
"It is what it is. A range of options and we'll assess all that in the morning," Kangaroos director of football Geoff Walsh said.
Harvey's advocate Justin Hannebery broke the incident down to two phases, pleading guilty to the initial hip-toss but arguing the 36-year-old attempted to then stand up when the Western Bulldogs tagger held him down.
"I don't think I had any other option," Harvey testified.
"He made contact with me and grabbed me with both hands.
"I tried to get up and get some leverage to push up ... he was pulling me down with force," he added, likening it to a "tug of war".
"Not at one stage did I want to hurt him .. or cause him pain."
The Bulldogs' medical report confirmed Picken was not injured.
But jury members Henwood, Neitz and Pittman dismissed the suggestion Harvey's forearm to the throat was an involuntary act, finding him guilty of misconduct in both incidents.
AFL legal counsel Jeff Gleeson QC suggested four weeks was an appropriate ban given Harvey showed a "degree of contrition" in pleading guilty, but his existing bad record was more paramount.
The 382-game veteran served a six-game suspension at the start of the 2013 season, burdening him with a 40 per cent loading.
Hannebery proposed three weeks was "far too close to the more serious aspects of misconduct and would be over the top".
The jury retired for a second time and again disagreed, imposing a penalty of 341 demerit points.
Earlier on Tuesday, Harvey's teammate Daniel Wells accepted a combined one-match ban for striking and rough-conduct charges at the weekend.
Wells was also slugged with 96.85 carry-over points. North's Lindsay Thomas and Aaron Black accepted fines for minor incidents.
A disappointed Brent Harvey leaves AFL House. Picture: Getty Images
Harvey is set to miss games against Adelaide and Melbourne, as well as week one of the finals, should the Kangaroos qualify as expected.
North Melbourne is considering an appeal.
"It is what it is. A range of options and we'll assess all that in the morning," Kangaroos director of football Geoff Walsh said.
Harvey's advocate Justin Hannebery broke the incident down to two phases, pleading guilty to the initial hip-toss but arguing the 36-year-old attempted to then stand up when the Western Bulldogs tagger held him down.
"I don't think I had any other option," Harvey testified.
"He made contact with me and grabbed me with both hands.
"I tried to get up and get some leverage to push up ... he was pulling me down with force," he added, likening it to a "tug of war".
"Not at one stage did I want to hurt him .. or cause him pain."
The Bulldogs' medical report confirmed Picken was not injured.
But jury members Henwood, Neitz and Pittman dismissed the suggestion Harvey's forearm to the throat was an involuntary act, finding him guilty of misconduct in both incidents.
AFL legal counsel Jeff Gleeson QC suggested four weeks was an appropriate ban given Harvey showed a "degree of contrition" in pleading guilty, but his existing bad record was more paramount.
The 382-game veteran served a six-game suspension at the start of the 2013 season, burdening him with a 40 per cent loading.
Hannebery proposed three weeks was "far too close to the more serious aspects of misconduct and would be over the top".
The jury retired for a second time and again disagreed, imposing a penalty of 341 demerit points.
Earlier on Tuesday, Harvey's teammate Daniel Wells accepted a combined one-match ban for striking and rough-conduct charges at the weekend.
Wells was also slugged with 96.85 carry-over points. North's Lindsay Thomas and Aaron Black accepted fines for minor incidents.
A disappointed Brent Harvey leaves AFL House. Picture: Getty Images
