BRISBANE forward Dakota Davidson will miss this weekend's Grand Final rematch against North Melbourne after her one-match ban for striking was upheld at the Tribunal on Tuesday night.
Davidson was cited for striking Essendon's Maddi Gay in an incident that was initially graded as careless conduct, high contact and medium impact.
The Lions tried to argue that the grading of the incident should be considered low impact, rather than medium.
Brisbane highlighted the medical report that showed Gay did not require an immediate on-field assessment and did not leave the field as a result of the incident.
Davidson, who gave evidence at the hearing, said that following the incident, Gay was "amicable" in discussions on-field.
The Lions also pointed to the fact that Gay continued to play out the game and there was no remonstration from any Essendon players following the contest.
The Tribunal deliberated for approximately 20 minutes before reaching their verdict.
"We find that the impact was medium. Although Gay suffered no injury and played out the game, the vision shows that the force of the blow to the head was quite considerable," Tribunal Chair Jeff Gleeson KC said.
"It knocked Gay clean off her feet, despite the fact that she was in a reasonably balanced position. It was not a case where Gay's own momentum contributed to her going to ground.
"The contact with an extended arm appears from the vision to be flush rather than glancing. We note the submission that Ms Davidson's fist was not clenched, but the contact was not made with the fist.
"Despite the hand being opened, the motion of the extended arm was forceful and the impact of the blow was readily apparent."
The Tribunal found that the strike was "inherently dangerous", ruling that Davidson's strike was more of a direct blow, rather than the glancing blow shown in examples involving West Coast's Elijah Hewett and Hawthorn's Eliza West.
"It was a strike from behind and Gay had no ability to protect herself or minimise the impact. The forceful blow with the extended arm was inherently dangerous and had the quite realistic potential to cause a concussion," Jeff Gleeson KC continued.
"The guidelines provide that such a strike will usually not be classified as low and we see no reason in this case not to follow that indication.
"We find that the impact here is more forceful than occurred in the (Elijah) Hewett and (Eliza) West examples, which were more of a glancing nature.
"While the impact in this matter may not have been at the same level as the Gardiner matter, which was graded medium impact, it is still within the medium classification."
Davidson is unavailable for the Lions’ clash against North Melbourne in round two.