IT was going to be Paul Dan's swansong, a shot at leading Hamilton to a record sixth straight premiership against Merewether in the Hunter Rugby Union grand final at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday.
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The perfect final curtain on a career that included representing NSW under-19s and playing in the Shute Shield for Manly and the Hunter Wildfires.
Instead, Dan will be a nervous ball of energy watching from the grandstand.
In a hammer blow to the Hawks' chances, an attempt by the club to have Dan's one-game suspension for card accumulation overturned failed on Tuesday and he will miss the decider.
Hamilton were also waiting to learn the fate of breakaway Lachlan Summers, who appeared before the judiciary last night on a lifting tackle charge after he was given a red card in the preliminary final. If found guilty, the penalty for a low-end offence starts at six games.
Dan, a 37-year-old fly-half, was sent to the sinbin for an intentional infringement - not rolling away at a ruck - near the Hawk's tryline in the 30th minute of their 59-24 demolition of Wanderers.
The yellow card was his third for the season and triggered a one-game suspension.
Wanderers captain Ben Ham was cleared to play the 2016 decider despite the back-rower receiving a third yellow card for the season in the preliminary final.
Under the Rugby Australia (RA) disciplinary guidelines in place at the time, yellow cards resulting in a temporary suspension could be challenged at the judiciary.
However, RA have since changed procedure and the only way a yellow card can be expunged is in the case of mistaken identity.
"We are really disappointed that Paul is not going to be there," Hamilton president Lesa Mason said. "He has been an integral part of the team for the past two seasons. Potentially it would have been his last game. We tried a coupe of different avenues but couldn't get in front of a judiciary unfortunately.
"I'm really disappointed for Paulie, but whoever comes into that spot will absolutely do their best. He will still be around to help. He was at training on Tuesday night and he is still pumped for the day."
Dan retired in 2020 after a season with the Hunter Wildfires. He started refereeing but the lure of playing proved too strong.
The evergreen play-maker has been the perfect link man in the expansive game that Marty Berry has installed at the Hawks. He also misses a chance to go head to head with cousin and Merewether replacement back-rower Michael Dan.
Billy Clay is most likely to replace Dan at fly-half. He started the season at 10 before suffering a serious thumb injury in a work accident and was sidelined for two months.
In previous years, clubs have taken legal action and threatened injunctions on the competition in a bid to have players cleared.
"That is not really our club's go," Mason said. "We were certainly led by our solicitor and his legal advice. It comes back to the fact that it is quite clear in the RU disciplinary procedure that mistaken identity is the only way you can challenge a yellow card."
Hunter Rugby Union competition's manager Nicole Joannou said the disciplinary guidelines were governed by Rugby Australia.
"We have to be consistent with the suspensions set by Rugby Australia which are issued through World Rugby," she said.
