CTV> Geoff Walsh spoke with CTV at the Lexus Centre after the appeal was upheld in Nick Maxwel's case against a rough conduct chargeCollingwood's captain Nick Maxwell's four-match ban for rough conduct has been thrown out by the AFL Appeals Board.
It means Maxwell will be able to play in Collingwood's next NAB Cup match against Richmond next Thursday and will not miss any games in either the pre-season or home-and-away rounds.
The appeals board has given no reason for the verdict yet, and are expected to release a statement later today.
Maxwell had been cited for a heavy hip and shoulder on West Coast's Patrick McGinnity during their NAB Cup clash on February 7, which left the young Eagle with a broken jaw.
But the AFL Tribunal's decision to find Maxwell guilty on Tuesday night had polarised the football community, with many suggesting it would spell an end to the hip-and-shoulder in the modern game.
The three-man appeals board listened to one hour and 15 minutes of evidence on Friday morning, in which Collingwood's advocate Terry Forrest QC argued Maxwell had no reasonable alternative but to make contact with McGinnity.
Maxwell said he was relieved he was free to play, and wished McGinnity well in a recovery which will take at least 12 weeks.
"I feel great that we've been vindicated in this," Maxwell said of Collingwood's decision to fight his case.
"I'd also like to wish Patrick McGinnity all the best in his recovery and hope he comes back and has a long and distinguished AFL career."
It is the first time in 11 cases brought before the Appeals Board since the new AFL tribunal system was introduced in 2005 that an appeal has been upheld and a tribunal verdict set aside.
Forrest successfully argued that if Maxwell had taken the option of putting his head over the ball rather than bumping McGinnity, it could have resulted in serious injury to both players, as well as Collingwood's Anthony Corrie, who was nearby.
"We say it is unrealistic in those circumstances, considering a player has a duty of care to the players around him, to put his head over the ball in the particular circumstances," Forrest told the appeals board.
"Putting his head over the ball with Corrie and McGinnity coming like a freight train is not asking him to execute a realistic alternative.
"It was a situation fraught with injury if Maxwell was required to put his head over the ball."
Forrest also said the option of Maxwell pulling out of the contest was not a reasonable one.
He suggested dodging a contest was not in the spirit of the game, and also wondered how a player could explain that sort of decision to a coach - in this case Collingwood's Mick Malthouse.
"That is not our game. 'I'm a tenth of a second away from impact, I'll pull out of this. Sorry Mick'," Forrest told the panel.
After less than five minutes of deliberation, the panel of Peter O'Callaghan QC, Brian Collis QC and retired Victorian Court of Appeal president John Winneke emerged to give their decision.
"It is of our opinion the appeal should be upheld. We'll publish our reasons later," appeals board chairman O'Callaghan said.
