VFL club Werribee will be without ruckman Kobe Annand for their home preliminary final after the Tigers big man accepted a one-game suspension for rough conduct.
A first-quarter incident involving Geelong's Jhye Clark in Saturday's qualifying final win Annand offered a two-game ban by the VFL Match Review Panel.
Gradings of careless conduct, medium impact and high contact resulted in the multiple-game penalty, which was halved as Annand lodged an early guilty plea.
The decision removes any risk of the 22-year-old missing a potential grand final spot in Jimmy Allan's side should they win their coming match, which Annand will miss.
That encounter will come against either Brisbane or Williamstown, who will go head-to-head this weekend in Queensland.
Annand has been a formidable supporting piece for first-string Werribee ruckman Sam Conway, averaging 21.8 hitouts and almost a goal every second game for the minor premiers.
The 'Bees ruck pairing has come together in the second half of this year, with Annand and Conway's first game as a duo not coming until Round 14.
Having played alongside one another in eight successive gamesย - a stretch where the Tigers lost just one game - Allan now faces an intriguing change and move away from the Annand-Conway pairing for at least one week.
Whether it be the Lions or Seagulls that Werribee face in less than a fortnight, Conway will be tasked with a tough matchup as the two sides are home to Darcy Fort and Tom Downie - who both rank among the best ruckmen in the VFL this year.
Fort is coming off one of his best performances at the level this year, recording 68 hitouts, 18 disposals and 12 clearances against Footscray over the weekend.
Downie ranks second this season for total hitouts and is coming off a promising afternoon at Box Hill, where he went up against AFL-listed pair Ned Reeves and Max Ramsden.
Werribee forward Aidan Johnson has pinch-hit in the ruck this year, mostly during the mid-year absence of Conway, and would again be called into the role for the Tigers' preliminary final.
That match will likely be held on Saturday, September 14 and awaits the winner of this week's clash between Brisbane and Williamstown.
A win in Werribee's next game will see the standalone club book its place in the VFL Grand Final for the second straight year, having fallen to Gold Coast last year.
Conway missed the 2023 season through injury and now spearheads the club's ruck crop as the Tigers look to claim their first VFL/VFA premiership since 1993.
