Melbourne’s Jacob Van Rooyen is free to play in Round 9 after a successful challenge of his two-match ban at the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday night.
Van Rooyen was banned initially by the MRO after striking Gold Coast’s Charlie Ballard in a spoil gone wrong in Saturday’s clash at Heritage Bank Stadium.
That decision was originally upheld at the Tribunal on Tuesday night with the incident deemed as not permitted incidental contact that was careless and high impact.
In a hearing that lasted four hours, Melbourne opted to argue that the contact was incidental and not a reportable offence under the letter of the law. The Appeals Board sided with the club, throwing out the suspension.
He will now be free to play against Hawthorn in their meeting on Saturday at the MCG.