Hello and welcome to Zero Hanger's live coverage of St Kilda player Lance Collard's AFL Tribunal hearing for his alleged use of a homophobic slur during a VFL match against the Frankston Dolphins.
The alleged incident occurred in Round 2, when the Saints faced the Dolphins, and Collard has strongly denied that he used a slur of that nature, instead claiming he used the word "maggot".
The alleged slur is a breach of the AFL's "conduct unbecoming" rule, and it will be the first time an AFL player will front the Tribunal in such a manner, with most hearings reserved for suspendable actions.
Collard was previously banned for six games after using a homophobic slur in 2024.
COLLARD HEARING LIVE
2:01pm - Hipwell has concluded giving evidence. Bailey Lambert has been called to give evidence.
Lambert was the Frankston player who heard the alleged homophobic remark, and was the one who alerted the adjudicating umpire of Collard's alleged slur towards his teammate.
1:52pm: Collard's representation revealed that the AFL is seeking a 10-game suspension, if he is found guilty.
"It's quite possible you misheard or misunderstood him? I'm not saying you're lying, I'm saying it's gotta be possible," Collard's representative said.
"There's no possibility I misheard him. I know exactly what he said," Hipwell replied.
"What he said was ‘maggot'. He said ‘come here, maggot'," Borsky said.
"You might've just been mistaken - it's (maggot) a word you've said you never heard before on the footy field.
Hipwell responded: "I was not mistaken at all."
1:51pm - Hipwell admitted that he was not personally offended by the alleged comment, but acknowledged that it shouldn't be said.
1:45pm - Collard's representative suggests that no one in and around the contest, where the alleged remark was made, heard the slur directed to Hipwell.
1:25pm - Collard's representative pulled up a report between Hipwell and an AFL investigator the day after the alleged incident.
It states that Hipwell couldn't see Collard, but recognised his voice due to the time they spent together at Sandringham.
The investigator also noted that Hipwell and teammate Bailey Lambert discussed the alleged incident at three quarter-time and following the match.
1:18pm - Collard's representative suggested that Hipwell used derogatory terms towards the Saint.
He denied using the word 'coward', but said: "I can't remember the exact words, but it was something along the lines of 'you're an idiot mate'."
1:13pm - Hipwell on what Collard said to him: "Darby, you f***ing f****t."
"I could not be more confident in what I heard."
1:09pm - Dolphins player Darby Hipwell has been called to give evidence.
Hipwell says that prior to the alleged slur, teammate Jackson Voss had kicked the ball, and Collard had hit him in the head, and he went down.
"Play stopped, and Jackson went down for a few minutes. The trainers came out and the play halted for a few minutes.
"There was a bit of a scuffle."
1:05pm - The AFL will call on three witnesses. A pair of Frankston players (one who the comment was directed to; the other who heard the word and reported it to the umpire) as well as the umpire.
The league's representative said the umpire didn't hear the alleged remark, but it was reported to them following the incident.
