What can a charged player do, and by when?

After the MRO charges a player and tells his club the offence and sanction, the player can:

1. Plead guilty early by 11am (Melbourne time) on the day after the club is notified. The sanction applies, with any early plea discount (fines only, no discount on suspensions).
2. Contest the charge, or plead guilty to a lesser charge, by the same 11am deadline. A Tribunal hearing is then held and the player may have legal representation.

If the player does nothing by 11am the next day (or a later time set by the AFL), he is deemed to have pleaded guilty and the sanction applies.

Early plea discounts for low-level fines and fixed financial offences: a first fixed financial offence is $1,500, or $1,000 with an early plea; a first low-level fine is generally $3,000, or $2,000 with an early plea (careless, low-impact body contact is $2,500, or $1,500).

Where the MRO grades a Classifiable Offence as Severe Impact and specifies that only the minimum sanction is sought, the player may still take an early plea and accept it. Otherwise it goes to the Tribunal and no early plea is available.

Source: 2026 AFL Tribunal Guidelines, sections 2.1(c), 3.1(c), (e), (h) and 3.3.