Charged with striking another person — which stemmed from an incident within the first three minutes of the weekend’s preliminary final against Rochester for which he was also yellow carded — Smith challenged the decision, with the help of noted AFL player advocate Iain Findlay as his representative.
But the tribunal upheld the initial two-match penalty — sitting him out for Sunday’s grand final as well as round one, 2025.
As of noon on Thursday, September 19, AFL Goulburn Murray confirmed to The News that no official appeal paperwork had been lodged.
Smith was not the only player hoping for a favourable tribunal decision to allow them to play in a season decider this week.
An under-18 Shepparton Swans player faced the tribunal on a charge of engaging in rough conduct against an opponent out of Sunday’s earliest preliminary final, but was also handed a two-match penalty.
A separate Shepparton Swans thirds player lodged an early guilty plea for a striking charge, graded as careless and low impact, which saw him penalised with just a reprimand.
Rochester’s Mitch Bright accepted a one-match suspension for striking another person in Sunday’s senior prelim.
In the Kyabram District League reserves grand final, Stanhope’s Layne Baker was reported for striking another person.
A total of seven Violet Town and eight Nagambie under-18 players were charged with various offences following the thirds decider at Mooroopna, including attempting to strike and attempting to kick, wrestling, engaging in a melee, instigating a melee, striking, engaging in rough conduct, kicking and misconduct.
Of those 15 players, nine (six Lakers and three Towners) only received one charge of engaging in a melee apiece.
An under-15 Violet Town player was also charged with engaging in rough conduct against an opponent and wrestling another person.
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