Fremantle forward Patrick Voss will be sidelined for the next three matches after his striking charge was upheld at the Tribunal.
Voss and the Dockers contested the AFL Match Review Officer's (MRO) charge after it was handed down following Sunday's contest against Richmond and Nick Vlastuin.
The incident took place during the fourth quarter, which saw the 21-year-old strike with a high swinging arm that collected Vlaustin in a tackle attempt.
Patrick Voss has been handed a three-match ban for striking Nick Vlastuin.
Full match review findings: https://t.co/4VNmXZGLFS pic.twitter.com/DibvGFuLtU
โ AFL (@AFL) April 14, 2025
The MRO graded Voss' actions as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
Fremantle argued that the impact shouldn't be graded as 'severe', but instead 'high'.
The Dockers relied on evidence from a plastic and reconstructive surgeon as part of their defence.
Voss didn't give any evidence throughout the Tribunal.
The AFL argued the level of impact on six accounts:
- Injury suffered
- The force of contact is clear on the footage
- Voss didn't do anything to reduce the impact
- Vlastuin's reaction and remained on the ground
- Vlastuin's teammates remonstrated (which was downplayed by Jeff Gleeson (chair))
- There was a significant risk for a more serious injury
The ban will rule Voss out of playing in the Dockers' upcoming games against Melbourne, Adelaide and St Kilda, with the forward able to return in Round 9 against Collingwood.
Vlastuin is still expected to feature for the Tigers despite having a broken nose, with the club revealing he passed all concussion tests and should be right to play.
"Broken nose for him (Nick Vlastuin), I'm sure his girlfriend's not too happy but doing ok otherwise," High Performance Manger Ben Serpell said.
