Melbourne have decided to accept Jacob van Rooyen's one-game suspension for rough conduct, meaning the Demons forward will miss Friday's semi-final clash with Carlton.
Van Rooyen was suspended by the Match Review Officer following his side's qualifying final loss to Collingwood due to a first-quarter incident involving Magpie Dan McStay.
A high elbow to McStay's head from van Rooyen as the pair contested for a loose ball gained the scrutiny of the MRO, who graded van Rooyen's actions as careless conduct, high contact and medium impact.
Melbourne had until Monday to decide whether to take the charge to the Tribunal, with the club confirming in the afternoon that the charge has been accepted after all options were explored.
“Over the last three days, we exhausted all avenues and looked through all relevant material before deciding to accept the one-match suspension,” Demons football boss Alan Richardson said.
“Accepting the sanction was in-line with the legal advice the club received throughout the process.”
The accepted charge will mean van Rooyen is unavailable for this week's semi-final against Carlton, and will be next available in Melbourne's following game, which could be a preliminary final clash with Brisbane or the start of the 2024 season depending on this week's result.
Melbourne will now be forced into at least two changes for their second final after midfielder Angus Brayshaw entered concussion protocols.
The Demons will host Carlton at the MCG at 7:50pm (AEST) on Friday night.
