CAM RAYNER will miss Brisbane's elimination final against Richmond after his rough conduct charge for a dangerous tackle on Melbourne's Ben Brown was upheld at the Tribunal on Tuesday night.
After two hours of evidence and more than 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury agreed with Match Review Officer Michael Christian's one-match suspension for the incident graded as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
Rayner unsuccessfully argued his tackle, that left the Demon with a bloody nose, was reasonable, and that impact should have been graded as low.
Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson described it as an "inherently dangerous" tackle.
"Brown was in a vulnerable position as both of his arms were pinned and he only had very little ability to protect himself from impact, using his forearms," Gleeson said.
Gleeson said Rayner contributed significantly to the momentum of the tackle, and the ultimate impact, suggesting the dynamic forward could have released one of Brown's arms.
"Given the force of tackle, there was potential to cause injury, such as a broken nose or concussion," Gleeson said.
Earlier in the evening, Rayner argued he had no reasonable alternative, saying his feet were off the ground and it was Brown's momentum that swung them around and ultimately into the turf.
He said Brown's size – he's 13cm taller and 10kg heavier than Rayner – made it difficult to control the tackle.
"It's hard to control someone's body that's so much bigger than mine if the force is pushing us that way," Rayner said.
"It's hard for me to bring him back the other way and land softly. I tried my hardest to make it a good tackle."
Rayner said he continued to pin Brown's upper arms because he retained the ball until the final split-second.
He also argued the rock-hard Gabba cricket square contributed to Brown's wounds.
"If that tackle happened anywhere else on the ground, I'm not sure those abrasions would have happened to Ben," Rayner said.
"I don't think I could have done more to protect him."
Rayner was even asked by AFL counsel Andrew Woods if he should have taken more care, knowing how hard the Gabba surface was.
"In a split-second contest in the game of football, it's probably the last thing that's going through my mind. I'm worried about a tackle, not the surface," he said.
Gleeson rejected Lions counsel Adrian Anderson's submission of previous tackles that had been graded as low impact, including Robbie Tarrant's on Sam Wicks from round 22, last season.
Rayner joins teammate Noah Answerth on the sidelines for the clash with the Tigers next Thursday night after he accepted a one-match ban for striking.
