GREATER Western Sydney midfielder Toby Greene will appeal his five-week club suspension with the backing of the AFL Players Association.
Greene, who was handed the club suspension on Friday morning, is facing a string of charges arising from an alleged assault in Caulfield on Monday night.
The club released a short statement on Friday night confirming that Greene would appeal the ban.
The Giants, who are "seeking further advice from the AFL about the dispute resolution process", said they had no further comment to make.
Earlier on Friday, the Giants said in a statement that by banning Greene from selection at any level they were "in no way pre-judging" the charges against him, which will be heard in court in September.
Rather, he was being disciplined for breaching club protocols by drinking alcohol when injured and failing to "properly notify the club after he was arrested and charged by police".
His appeal would be the first heard since 2012, when the Suns' Danny Stanley had a four-week club ban halved.
"The AFL Players’ Association believes the penalty imposed upon Toby Greene is unwarranted in the circumstances," acting player relations manager Brett Murphy said on Friday afternoon.
"It’s important to note that the penalty relates to Toby’s breach of club protocol.
"Whilst we support the club not dealing with the alleged incidents for which Toby has been charged at this time to protect the integrity of the criminal process, a five-week suspension for a breach of protocols is grossly disproportionate."
Greene's manager Paul Connors told Fairfax Media: ''We'll talk to Toby and his family over the weekend and decide whether we go ahead with an appeal … it's certainly an option we'll strongly consider.''
If Greene appeals, his case would be heard by a dispute resolution panel likely made up of club CEO David Matthews, one of the Giants' AFLPA delegates and a third-party person.
Co-captain Phil Davis and ruckman Jonathan Giles are the club's AFLPA delegates, and it is unlikely Davis would sit on any panel given he played a role in determining Greene's initial penalty.
The third-party panel member in the Stanley case, which related to a minor traffic offence, was a sports lawyer with no allegiance to the club or player.
The Giants' leadership group met with the club board and coach Leon Cameron on Thursday night, and Greene fronted his teammates on Friday morning, with co-captain Callan Ward describing him as "extremely upset".
Cameron said the club needed to send a strong message when deciding Greene's penalty.
"We're into our third year in the competition and we want to really let everyone know that we have really strong values and behaviours and everyone has to adhere to that regardless of who you are," the coach said.
