Hawthorn defender Brian Lake has been found guilty of rough conduct at the Tribunal on Tuesday night and will miss four matches for a his choker hold on North Melbourne forward Drew Petrie.
Lake was sent directly to the Tribunal to answer a charge of forcefully applying his hand to Petrie's throat where there was a risk of serious injury.
He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of rough conduct – "aggressive wrestling" – and argued he was not applying pressure to Petrie's throat but rather grabbing at his opponent's jumper.
PRESS PLAY above to watch the Petrie/Lake incident | YouTube
In a marathon hearing, the jury of David Neitz, Richard Loveridge and Wayne Schimmelbusch deemed his offence to be worth 410 points, inclusive of a 10 per cent loading for his bad record.
An emotional Lake spoke after the hearing and said he respected the jury's decision.
"It's been a tough couple of days for myself and my family, it's just great to come here and get my point across on what happened," he said.
"I respect the jury's decision on the four weeks and I've just got to look forward to a tough four-week period of training and getting my body right.
"Leading into finals I've got three weeks (after the ban ends) to get my match fitness and look for a big September."
