MELBOURNE key forward Tayla Harris believes young gun Ava Usher's one-match ban for rough conduct should be overturned at the Tribunal.
Gold Coast will challenge Usher's one-match suspension in a bid to have Usher available for their round 12 clash against Greater Western Sydney.
Usher received the one-match suspension following an incident involving Richmond's Bec Miller in the dying stages of the Suns' nailbiting win over the Tigers in round 11.
If the ban is upheld at the Tribunal, Usher will be ineligible to win the Telstra AFLW Rising Star Award.
Harris believes there was no malice involved in the incident and hopes the youngster is free to play this weekend.
"I think it was a bit of a brushing past kind of moment, I don't think it was intentional, she's trying to get to her teammate to celebrate a close-fought win," Harris told AFL.com.au's Tagged.
"Bec is OK, I feel confident to say that that was one of those ones where it was unfortunate it ended up like that, but I don't think it was malicious at all."
Usher is seen as a frontrunner to claim the award in a stacked field, which also features Olivia Wolmarans, Ash Centra, Jordyn S. Allen, Chantal Mason and Sierra Grieves.
"She is up there as one of the top contenders, that would be huge news," Tagged co-host Sarah Hosking said.
"She had one of the best games of the season and was building momentum for finals," co-host Jordyn Allen replied.
"I'd be fuming if I was Ava," Harris said.
In 2024, West Coast's Harley Reid and Western Bulldog Sam Darcy were both ineligible for the award after receiving suspensions, with Geelong youngster Ollie Dempsey eventually claiming that year's Rising Star.
