THE BUMP is officially dead, according to Geelong coach Chris Scott and captain Joel Selwood, after James Kelly's rough conduct charge was upheld by the Tribunal on Tuesday night.
The Cats were left seething following the one-hour hearing, with Kelly to miss Saturday night's blockbuster clash against Collingwood at the MCG as well as the round nine match against Port Adelaide.
The triple premiership onballer was left with 89.06 carryover points after the jury deemed he made contact to the head of Essendon's Brendon Goddard in Friday night's clash at Etihad Stadium.
Goddard gave evidence on Tuesday night via phone link and said he believed the contact, made in a bump during the third quarter, was to his forearm and chest.
Earlier on Tuesday, Scott said Kelly's actions were "as close as I can imagine to there being a fair bump".
If it was not deemed fair by the Tribunal, he said, "then I think by extension we're saying that you can't bump".
Following the decision, Selwood tweeted: "Sad day... The bump is dead!"
Kelly and Geelong football manager Neil Balme were part of lengthy discussions immediately after the decision was announced, but they refused to comment when leaving the Tribunal.
It is unclear whether they will challenge the decision.
The Cats did not risk Kelly missing an extra match by challenging the Match Review Panel decision, but the carryover points will be a significant burden for the remainder of the season.
He had an existing bad record of one match suspended within the past two years and 64.06 demerit points carried over, increasing the penalty to 289.06 points.
Balme approached Goddard to give evidence on Tuesday night and it was approved by Tribunal chairman David Jones, despite evidence from a 'victim player' generally not being allowed.
Goddard said he recalled contact being made across his chest and shoulder region and he was "never concerned" for his head.
However, he said he had not watched a replay of the incident and agreed it was possible contact could have been made to his jaw.
Kelly's legal counsel, Peter Murdoch QC, said Goddard's evidence was "the best evidence we could have", but the jury of Wayne Henwood, Richard Loveridge and Emmett Dunne disagreed.
AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson SC used frame-by-frame vision of the incident to mount his case, saying it was clear that contact was made to the jaw.
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
