HAWTHORN has accepted Lance Franklin's one-game suspensionfor rough conduct, meaning the superstar forward is out of Friday night's qualifyingfinal against the Sydney Swans.
Franklin was reported on Friday night for a high bump onSwans defender Nick Malceski.
The Match Review Panel upheld the charge on Monday, gradingthe 26-year-old's hit as negligent, high contact and medium impact – enough for225 demerit points and a two-week sanction.
By pleading guilty, Franklin has reduced his suspension by aweek, meaning he will be eligible to return for the preliminary final if theHawks win on Friday night, or the semi-final if they lose.
The Hawks have won 11 of their past 12 matches without thefour-time All Australian, dating back to round 16, 2010.
They have averaged 104.8 points with him in the line-up,compared to 127.9 points without him.
However, only one of the 11 wins was against a team placedin the top four at the time of the clash.
On Monday, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said Franklinwould be missed, but he would still be confident against the Swans.
"He's a very important player forour side, but we have worked very hard over the last 12 months to spread ourload and that's not just to do with 'Buddy' but through our midfield aswell," Clarkson said.
Even without Franklin, the Hawks'forward line will still contain three players who have kicked 35 or more goalsthis season, including Coleman medallist Jarryd Roughead (68).
The others are Luke Breust (37) and JackGunston (35).
Franklin booted 58 goals during the homeand away season, averaging his fewest goals per game since 2006 as the Hawkssought to spread their goal distribution more evenly.
All other players charged by the MRP on Monday also acceptedtheir sanctions, meaning the AFL Tribunal will not sit on Tuesday night.