St Kilda forward Lance Collard facing potential 10-week suspension for alleged homophobic slur in VFL match

The AFL wants West Australian St Kilda forward Lance Collard banned for 10 weeks if he is found guilty of using a homophobic slur for the second time in his career. But the tribunal did not reach a verdict on Thursday after a marathon three-and-a-half hour hearing. The verdict is set to be announced on Friday as to whether Collard is guilty of calling Frankston opponent Darby Hipwell a “f…..g f…..t” in a VFL clash between St Kilda and the Dolphins last month. Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson KC said they were not yet ready to release a verdict and once determined they would release it along with written reasons, having not met the 5pm AEST deadline on Thursday. AFL counsel Andrew Woods said they would seek a 10-week suspension should he be found guilty. Collard is facing a second potential suspension for the same offence having been banned for six weeks for using the same word in a game towards an opponent two years ago. The 21-year-old vehemently denied the allegations, signing a statutory declaration that he used the word “maggot” towards Hipwell. “I just grabbed him and said, ‘come here maggot’,” Collard told the hearing. Collard also told the tribunal that the Frankston players were mocking him about a potential suspension and he was told by one of his teammates about the accusation. As part of his submission, Collard’s lawyer Michael Borsky said there was no objective evidence, and this was a powerful reason why the tribunal could not be comfortably satisfied that the allegations were true. Hipwell told the hearing that Collard said to him “‘Darby you or you are a f…ing f…..t” after they were involved in a scuffle during the third term. “Just before he let me go, he had one final pull towards him and he had his head up against my ear and he said the words to me,” Hipwell told the hearing. “I could not be more confident in what I heard.” Asked if he’d ever heard the phrase “maggot” used on a football field, Hipwell said: “Not at all, I don’t hear that often if not ever. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term used.” Hipwell denied he called Collard a “coward” or any other derogatory term during the scuffle when questioned by Borsky. “It was something along the lines of ‘you’re an idiot mate’,” he said. Frankston teammate Bailey Lambert instantly reported it to the umpire Sam Morgan, who was in contact with Hipwell post-game. Lambert said he 100 per cent heard Collard say “Darby, you’re a f…ing f…..t” and that he was close to the Saints forward when it was spoken. Lambert admitted he called Collard “weak” but denied he nor Hipwell called him a “coward”. Umpire Morgan, who was the closest official to the incident, said he did not hear any homophobic slur and could not specify what was said if anything during the melee. Morgan said a Frankston player – who he could not 100 per cent recall the identity of - approached him to report an alleged homophobic slur at three-quarter time, which was the first time he’d become aware. Collard was suspended for six weeks in 2024 for the use of a homophobic slur in a VFL game against Williamstown. At the time, he immediately admitted to using the word, was remorseful and was also ordered to complete Pride in Sport training. The forward was also suspended for two weeks for a striking in the same game and he has not added to his 15 AFL games since round 24 last year. Collard was part of West Coast’s Next Generation Academy, but the Eagles could not match any bids on him inside the top 40 in the 2023 national draft as per the rules at the time. St Kilda took the 185cm Subiaco goalsneak with pick 28 that year, having kicked 32 goals in 11 games for Subiaco in the colts.