MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Toby Greene of the Giants arrives for his AFL Tribunal Appeal Hearing at AFL House on September 19, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
GWS star Toby Greene will miss his side's preliminary final against Collingwood on Saturday after the AFL Appeals Board upheld his one-match ban for making unnecessary contact to the eye region of Brisbane's Lachie Neale.
During the Giants' semi-final win over Brisbane last weekend, Greene appeared to make contact with the face of Neale, and was subsequently hit with a one-game ban for the incident, after Match Review Officer Michael Christian deemed the action as intentional conduct with low impact and high contact.
The Tribunal upheld the initial ruling on Tuesday night, a decision the Giants took to the AFL Appeals Board.
However, GWS' appeal came up short on Thursday night, meaning Greene will have to watch Saturday's clash from the sidelines.
Collingwood and GWS will face off at 4:35pm (AEST) at the MCG on Saturday, with the winning advancing to the grand final.