Adelaide ruck Montana McKinnon will miss the AFLW grand final through suspension, with the Crows opting not to challenge the tribunal's decision to uphold her one-match ban for rough conduct.
McKinnon was in tears on Tuesday night after the Crows failed to convince the tribunal her rough conduct charge, for a high, late bump on Fremantle star Kiara Bowers should be graded low impact instead of medium, which would have drawn a lesser penalty.
In a heartbreaking situation for the 20-year-old, Adelaide were also unable to convince the tribunal the exceptional circumstances of a grand final, which would have been McKinnon's first, and her good record should reduce the penalty.
The Crows pondered , and while adamant the bump didn't warrant missing a grand final, decided not to appeal the tribunal's decision due to there being no fresh grounds to contest the outcome.
"We are extremely disappointed that Montana won't be playing this weekend," Crows AFLW boss Phil Harper said.
"From not playing a game last year to now being a key member of our side, she has improved markedly and been a significant contributor throughout what has been a fantastic season.
"As a club, we did our very best to try and have the match review's rough conduct finding downgraded.
"Despite our challenge being unsuccessful, we maintain that incident does not warrant a young player missing a grand final."
