MELBOURNE’S Kysaiah Pickett has had his three-match suspension for Rough Conduct upheld at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.

The decision comes after a marathon hearing, where the club pleaded not guilty to the charge, which was graded by the Match Review Officer as Careless Conduct, Severe Impact, High Contact.

“We challenged the decision tonight, on the basis that we felt the outcome of Kozzy’s action against Darcy Moore was unlikely to cause injury and could not be foreseen,” Melbourne GM of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson said.

“As highlighted to the Tribunal, we believe that in the moment Kozzy chose to bump, intending to make shoulder-on-shoulder contact, Darcy lowered to the ground. This resulted in the high contact. We also argued that there was insufficient time for Kozzy to make any adjustments to his action, as a result of Darcy’s movement.

“We will assess our options from here. We fully understand the importance of protecting the head and reinforce that player safety is paramount.”

The incident between Pickett and Collingwood’s Moore occurred in the second term of the Demons’ Round 24 match.

As a result of the Tribunal’s decision, Pickett will be unavailable for the first three matches of Melbourne’s 2025 AFL season.