Brown was facing a three match ban for a high bump on North Melbourne’s Daniel Wells in the second quarter at Docklands on Sunday.
It was the new wording of the ‘deeming rule’ – or the Maxwell rule as fans will better know it – that helped Brown beat the charge.
The three-man jury was first asked to ponder whether Brown had caused forceful contact to Wells in the clash between Hawthorn and North Melbourne on Sunday.
Despite Hawthorn’s legal counsel and the AFL prosecutor agreeing contact might have been made high and that Brown might have had an alternative option to tackle, the jury’s first question was as to whether forceful contact had been made.
In finding Brown not guilty the jury didn’t believe sufficient contact had been made and the grateful Brown is free to play Port Adelaide this week.
“I always felt that I had a strong case,” Brown said. “I never felt that I made strong contact to the head of Wells ... I knew there was some doubt there.”
Brown’s tribunal reprieve is timely for the Hawks given their early season injury toll.
“We’ve lost a few soldiers over the last few weeks, with Xavier Ellis and Grant Birchall out now, so we probably couldn’t afford to lose another member,” Brown said.
In the evening’s earlier case, Collingwood’s Heath Shaw escaped with a one match ban after his good record and a guilty plea helped him downgrade the serious charge of intentional contact with an umpire.
Shaw, despite not having to give evidence, fronted the tribunal to discover the AFL and its match review panel had recommended a penalty of 225 demerit points and a $2600 fine.
Collingwood and its legal team were happy to accept the penalty on offer with the defender’s guilty plea cutting his sentence by 25 per cent.
His existing good record further reduced his demerit points to 126.56 points leaving a one-match sanction. His fine was cut to $1950.
Michael Vozzo, the field umpire that Shaw grabbed during last Thursday’s match against Geelong gave evidence at the hearing.
He said had just paid a free kick to Geelong when he felt contact on his right hand side.
“I probably actually worded it incorrectly ... it was more for contact than actually touching me,” Vozzo told the tribunal.
The Magpies and Shaw indicated their regret at the incident and acknowledged umpires were “sacrosanct” in Australian football.
