Lachie Plowman and Jaeger O'Meara collide in the Blues' R10 clash with the Hawks on May 22, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

CARLTON will launch a last-ditch bid to overturn Lachie Plowman's two-match suspension at the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday night, after the defender's initial challenge proved unsuccessful at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday.

Plowman was cited for rough conduct following an incident that left Hawthorn star Jaeger O'Meara with concussion, with the Tribunal upholding his ban after a lengthy two-hour hearing.

The Tribunal concluded that Plowman "executed a bump" as opposed to being involved in a marking contest, subsequently confirming the Match Review's initial grading of the incident and ruling him out of games against Sydney and West Coast.

The Blues are appealing the case based on the argument that "an error of law has occurred".

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Concussion concern for O'Meara in brutal collision

Jaegar O'Meara feeling the effects after this clash

The Blues claim Plowman's "sole intent was to contest the ball" and argued the decision went against the "fabric of the game".

Clubs are only able to appeal AFL Tribunal decisions if:

  • An error of law has occurred.
  • The decision of the Tribunal is so unreasonable that no Tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it.
  • The classification of the offence by the Tribunal was manifestly excessive or inadequate.
  • The sanction imposed by the Tribunal was manifestly excessive or inadequate.

Plowman didn't make the trip to New South Wales for Sunday's clash with Sydney, even despite the club holding out hope his AFL Appeals Board hearing will be successful later this week, having hurt his knee in last Saturday's win over Hawthorn.

But despite his absence at the SCG, the Blues are still determined to challenge his case and seek clarity on exactly why the AFL Tribunal deemed Plowman wasn't involved in a marking contest.

"We still will go through with the appeal," Carlton footy boss Brad Lloyd said.

"We feel like it was two courageous players going into a contest and we felt that the way things panned out last night … we just want to seek some clarity for ourselves and for the game in general.

"Those contests happen fairly regularly and we thought it was worthy of reviewing the situation, so we'll go to the AFL Appeals Board whenever that hearing gets put on over the next couple of days.

"Hopefully, if that's successful, Lachie is available for the next game against West Coast."

Carlton risks a $5000 fine by taking Plowman's case to the AFL Appeals Board, with $2500 of that refundable should the defender ultimately be successful in his hearing.

A time and date for the club's final appeal is not yet known, with the AFL Appeals Board panel required to be different to the panel that sat in for Plowman's hearing at the AFL Tribunal earlier this week.