Fin Macrae: West Coast Eagles midfielder cops two-match WAFL ban, Andrew McQualter ‘not happy’ with decision

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has criticised the WAFL’s Match Review and tribunal system after Fin Macrae copped a two-week suspension for an off-the-ball strike, ruling him out of contention for an AFL call-up across the coming fortnight. Macrae was cited for a hit to the mid-section of Swan Districts’ Jesse Turner in the third term of last weekend’s WAFL clash. The strike came while the duo were standing in the middle of the ground as a Swans player was taking a set shot, and forced Turner to come from the field to be assessed before he returned to play out the remainder of the match. The incident was deemed worthy of a two-match ban, which could have been reduced to one match with an early guilty plea. But West Coast challenged the case at the tribunal on Wednesday night before ultimately being unsuccessful. Having lost the potential opportunity to hand Macrae an AFL elevation over the coming fortnight, McQualter said he was displeased with the verdict. “It’s been an incredibly disappointing outcome from the weekend that we’re not happy with as a football club,” McQualter said on SEN. “He’s been suspended for two weeks of football. I’ll let the club speak to that further. “But we’re really disappointed for Fin. We’re not happy with how that played out.” McQualter said he would “let the club get a bit more clarity on the way that the process played out” before the Eagles responded in greater detail. Macrae has been one of West Coast’s top performers in their WAFL victories over West Perth and Swans across the past two matches. The ex-Collingwood midfielder has averaged 27 disposals, five tackles and four inside-50s per game in that span, pressing his case for a senior call-up amid a string of heavy losses for the AFL side. “He has been in much better form in the past few weeks,” McQualter said. “We brought Fin over here knowing his capabilities as a footballer. He probably didn’t start the season the way he wanted, but the past few weeks he’s shown what type of footballer he’ll be for us.”