The Gold Coast Suns will head to the VFL Tribunal on Tuesday evening to contest captain James Tsitas' one-game ban for striking.
The charge handed down by the VFL's Match Review Panel came from a first-quarter incident on Box Hill's Jacob Koschitzke in a marking contest, with Tsitas' right arm making high contact with the Hawthorn-listed forward.
The incident gained scrutiny from the MRP, who graded Tsitas' actions as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact, resulting in a two-game suspension that can be halved with an early guilty plea.
The Suns have instead opted to contest the charge in the hope of freeing their skipper for Sunday's grand final against Werribee at Ikon Park.
“We believe we have a strong case and look forward to it being heard at the VFL Tribunal,” Suns football performance boss Wayne Campbell said in a club statement.
The VFL Tribunal hearing will take place at 5:30pm (AEST) on Tuesday evening.
Tsitas wasn't the only player from last Saturday's preliminary final at Carrara to be charged by the MRP, with Box Hill pair Denver Grainger-Barras (striking) and Cooper Stephens (forceful front-on contact) coming under fire for separate incidents.
Both players can have one-game suspensions reduced to fines with guilty pleas.
Elsewhere, Adelaide forward Lachlan Gollant is in line to miss the start of the 2024 season for the Crows after being handed a one-game suspension in the SANFL.
A second-quarter incident from Adelaide's preliminary final meeting with Sturt has seen Gollant hit with a charge of striking Double Blues player Rory Illman off the ball.
The SANFL Match Review Panel graded Gollant's actions as intentional conduct, high contact and low impact, resulting in a base sanction of two games that can be reduced to one match with an early guilty plea.
The Crows are yet to confirm a decision on whether they will challenge the charge. If accepted, Gollant will be unavailable for selection at both AFL and SANFL level to start next year.