Collingwood defender Billy Frampton has been cleared to play in a crucial match against Carlton after having a suspension for rough conduct downgraded to a fine at the AFL tribunal.
Frampton, who last month had a ban thrown out over the incident that left Melbourne's Brody Mihocek with a broken neck, was initially handed a one-match sanction over a heavy tackle on North Melbourne's Matt Whitlock.
It was graded by match review officer Michael Christian as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
But Frampton successfully argued the impact on Whitlock was 'low', and he is free to play in the eighth-placed Magpies' encounter with their traditional rivals the Blues at the MCG on Saturday night.
Frampton was unsuccessful in arguing against the 'careless' grading of his conduct.
He gave evidence that he had no other option but to lunge at Whitlock from behind, and said he showed care in rotating his opponent in the tackle.
Frampton also said he tried to release one of Whitlock's arms once he felt the Kangaroos player lose control in the tackle.
Through legal representative Albert Dinelli, the AFL suggested the momentum of Frampton's tackle actually increased after Whitlock lost the ball.
The league argued it was an unreasonable tackle because Frampton pinned both arms and put Whitlock in a vulnerable position, and he was slung, driven or rotated to the ground with excessive force.
Pointing to the footage, Collingwood representative Nicholas Baum said: "There was no rotation, slinging or driving into the ground at all."
Dinelli made it clear the AFL did not have an issue with Frampton laying the tackle in the first place, but said the player should have released Whitlock's arms earlier in the motion to allow him to protect himself.
North Melbourne's medical report found no symptoms or signs of concussion from Whitlock.
The three-person AFL tribunal, led by chair Renee Enbom, deliberated for around an hour before downgrading the charge.
"It's the combination of pinning both arms at all relevant times, and the force used to take Mr Whitlock to ground, that makes the tackle careless," Enbom said.
"As to impact, on balance, we find it to be low.
"The vision shows that while Mr Whitlock's head did hit the ground, the force was reduced by his knee and shoulder first making contact with the ground.
"This is relevant to both the force with which his head hit the ground and also the potential for injury."
Frampton was last month cleared of rough conduct over the "distressing" incident involving his friend and former Collingwood teammate Mihocek.
On that occasion, he had a three-match suspension overturned.
Meanwhile, Essendon's Angus Clarke and Sydney's Matthew Roberts will learn on Wednesday whether they have been successful in challenging their separate umpire contact charges.
The pair made written submissions to the tribunal.
Essendon are facing the possibility of a heavy fine for repeated umpire contact offences if Clarke is found guilty.
It would make him the fifth Essendon player sanctioned this season, and reaching that threshold could trigger a club fine of up to $50,000.
Gold Coast were the first club fined under the league-wide crackdown when penalised $20,000 last month.
