Lance Collard's 'crippling' ban reduced to four weeks with two suspended after St Kilda appeal

St Kilda forward Lance Collard's ban for a homophobic slur has been reduced from nine weeks to four after an appeal hearing determined the original sanction was "crippling".

In a hearing which lasted two hours, Collard's defence was able to successfully argue that the AFL's original sanction over an incident in the VFL on March 27 was manifestly excessive.

The AFL has accepted the appeals board's decision and considers the matter closed.

"It is to the credit of the AFL and the tribunal that its efforts to eliminate [homophobic abuse] appear to be succeeding," said the chairman of the appeals board, Will Houghton KC.

"However, that cannot be at the price of imposing what this board considers to be a crippling penalty on the appellant in this case.

"We describe it as crippling because there was evidence before the tribunal in the sanction in both hearings that a penalty of this extent would finish him off as a player of professional football.

"Firstly, his previous misconduct in 2024 was more serious and probably far more serious than the present affairs."

The appeals board threw out St Kilda's assertion that the AFL had incorrectly charged Collard under Rule 2.3(a) for conduct unbecoming to the league instead of using Rule 35, the Peek Rule, which is used to address vilification.

"The comment found to have been made by Collard is disgraceful in the view of the appeal board and clearly homophobic," Houghton said.

"A comment like that has no place on the football field. It clearly comes within rule 2.3(a).

"There is no doubt in the appeal board's view that the offending comment was conduct unbecoming."

The appeals board also took into account Collard's age, his background and the fact that the target of the slur, Frankston's Darby Hipwell, had previously told the tribunal he was not offended by the slur.

St Kilda once again referred to instances of Zak Butters, Dale Thomas and Dane Rampe being fined rather than suspended for using abusive language against officials as a part of its argument.

The Saints also used an incident involving Alastair Clarkson from 2024 to argue the initial suspension handed down to Collard was excessive.

On that occasion, Clarkson was fined $20,000 and handed an entirely suspended two-match ban over using a homophobic slur against two St Kilda players during a pre-season contest.

St Kilda referenced the Clarkson sanction and asked for Collard to be handed either an entirely financial sanction or a sanction of four weeks and was ultimately successful.

The reduction of Collard's suspension brings to an end another drawn-out tribunal process after Butters had his umpire-abuse charge thrown out.

The AFL ultimately issued an apology over a tribunal panel member's decision to disconnect from the initial hearing then continue listening while driving.

Last week, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon labelled the AFL's tribunal process a "firestorm", saying it put unnecessary stress on the individuals involved.

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