Lions weigh up Berry angle for tribunal

Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann says the Lions are still weighing up the best angle for their crucial bid to clear Jarrod Berry at the AFL Tribunal.

Berry, who starred in the second half of the Lions’ hoodoo-busting upset of Melbourne, could miss the preliminary final against Geelong after being cited for unreasonable or unnecessary contact to the eye region.

The midfielder was caught in a scuffle with Melbourne star Clayton Oliver during the third quarter.

The Brownlow Medal contender Oliver had pinned Berry to the ground with his elbow.

The 24-year-old then appeared to make hand contact with Oliver’s face in an attempt to free himself.

Swann said the Lions were still unsure if they argue for a downgrade of the charge against Berry or attempt to have him found not guilty.

Berry will front the virtual tribunal on Tuesday night in a bid to overturn his one-game suspension.

“The gist of it will be he had no choice; Oliver’s got his elbow on his throat and he’s trying to get him off,” Swann told RSN on Tuesday.

“Where that leads to we’ll finish off that (on Tuesday), we’ve had some discussions about it, but it’s just annoying that we’re even doing it.

“But that’s the system so we’ll turn up and try to get him off.

“A downgrade is enough to get him off but not guilty is even better.”

Berry helped turn Friday night’s semi-final against the Demons in the Lions’ favour once he went to a tagging role on Oliver after halftime.

After being restricted to just four possessions, Berry helped curb Oliver’s influence and collected 22 touches of his own in the second-half to help power the Lions to their first win at the MCG since 2014.

Brisbane will be back at the MCG this Friday night to face minor premiers Geelong as the Lions look to cause another upset and book a spot in their first grand final in 18 years.