Alex Pearce has booked a date with the AFL Tribunal, with Fremantle to challenge the three-match suspension handed down to their skipper for his hit on Darcy Byrne-Jones.

Pearce’s collision was graded as careless with high contact and severe impact, with Byrne-Jones unable to take any further part in Saturday night’s game due to concussion symptoms.

The Dockers are set to plead their case at the tribunal in an effort to have the captain’s penalty reduced. As it stands, Pearce will miss matches against Gold Coast, North Melbourne and Essendon.

The hearing is likely to be held on Tuesday.

Pearce was on Monday morning pictured in discussions with Dockers football manager Joe Brierty as Freo took to the training track ahead of Saturday’s road assignment against the Suns.

Fremantle will be hoping for a better outcome than their most recent visit to the tribunal from last month, where they failed to overturn a three-match striking ban for Pat Voss.

Pearce’s presence in the Dockers defence looms as pivotal against a Suns side that is among the most potent in the AFL. Gold Coast are averaging 101.3 points per game this season, with Ben King second in the Coleman Medal race after booting 31 goals in 10 appearances.

Could Rioli precedent save Alex Pearce from suspension?

Could Willie Rioli be the saviour who allows Fremantle captain Alex Pearce to overturn a three-game suspension for engaging in rough conduct?

Pearce has been handed a three-game ban for the collision which left Port Adelaide’s Darcy Byrne-Jones concussed on Saturday night.

Byrne-Jones was running with the flight of the ball with Pearce coming from the opposite direction, and the AFL Match Review Officer deemed the Dockers’ captain was liable for the contact.

The incident was rated as careless conduct with high contact and severe impact resulting in a three-game ban.

It was the same scenario which Rowell and Rioli were in during the first round in 2022. Rioli leapt into the air, struck Rowell high and was handed a one-game ban because the Suns’ star avoided injury.

That incident was graded as careless conduct with medium impact and high contact. West Coast overturned the ban by convincing the tribunal that Rioli wasn’t careless and now Fremantle have to do the same.

Rioli argued he didn’t see Rowell until it was too late and couldn’t have contested the ball in any other way.

“I believe my duty was to commit to the contest and help my team at any cost. It’s unfortunate it escalated like this, but my intention was to win the ball,” Rioli said.

The tribunal agreed and ruled that Rioli wasn’t careless and that meant he couldn’t be found guilty.

“Incidents such as this where the question revolves around whether and how the player is contesting the ball are not easy,” Tribunal Chairman Jeff Gleeson QC said at the time. “Rioli had eyes for the ball as he entered the contest (and) there is no doubt he braced for contact a split second before contact. “But when doing so he did not cease to contest the ball. The way in which he did so was not unreasonable.”

But Gleeson also issued a warning to players that they shouldn’t think the verdict meant they would clear all players in the same scenario.

“Incidents such as this, where the question revolves whether and how the player is contesting the ball, are not easy,” Gleeson said.

“This tribunal will be astute to uphold any charge where a player was initially intending to contest the ball, but changed that intention and in doing so, breached his duty of care.

“That is not this case.”

The AFL issued a statement after the tribunal hearing saying they disagreed with the decision but would not appeal. All eyes will now be on fremantle to see if they can mount a defence that clears Pearce.

The game has changed a lot in three years. Concussion is an even bigger issue. The AFL world will be watching closely to see the outcome.