Saints forward yet to learn fate after marathon tribunal

The Tribunal will wait until Friday (tomorrow) to hand down it's verdict on St Kilda’s Lance Collard.

During St Kilda's Round 2 VFL match against Frankston, it was alleged that the 21-year-old said a homophobic slur on the field towards Darby Hipwell.

In the tribunal, Hipwell was definitive that he heard the former first-round pick call him a 'f---ing f----t'.

"There’s no possibility I misheard him. I heard exactly what he said," Hipwell explained during the hearing.

This was also backed by fellow teammate Bailey Lambert.

Collard was also called upon for evidence, which he denied, claiming he said 'maggot'.

Collard also confirmed that he signed a statutory declaration where he confirmed that he did not say it.

With a deadline of 5pm AEST, the VFL tribunal had not come to a decision, resulting in them deciding to wait until Friday when they hand down their verdict and written reasons for it.

It is now the second time Collard's name has been associated with homophobic slurs having copped a monster six-game ban in 2024.

At the time, Collard pleaded guilty to making the slur during Sandringham's VFL clash with Williamstown.

"I am incredibly remorseful for my comments and any hurt they may have caused," Collard said at the time.

"I'm disappointed in myself and fully accept the consequences for my behaviour.

"What I did doesn't represent my values, or the values of the club. I have apologised to the Williamstown players who were impacted by my behaviour, and unreservedly reiterate that apology to anyone else my conduct affected."