Richmond will look to move on after the convoluted saga around Bachar Houli's suspension was resolved on Thursday night.
Cited for intentional high contact that knocked out Carlton's Jed Lamb, Houli had a recommended four-game suspension cut down to two games by the tribunal, then boosted back up to four two days later after the AFL's appeal.
The doubling of the initial ban came after the appeals board ruled the comments from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and television presenter Waleed Aly, which were referenced by Houli's legal representatives during Tuesday's tribunal hearing, should be irrelevant when assessing on-field actions.
It was a somewhat farcical back and forth, which Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said could have been handled better.
"Would we prefer the process be a little bit more streamlined? Absolutely," Hardwick said.
"But the reality is it is what it is. I can't control that."
With the defender now set to miss Saturday's clash with Port Adelaide, followed by games against St Kilda, Brisbane and GWS, it is time for the Tigers to move on.
"We're glad to put it behind us to be honest," Hardwick said on Friday.
"We're glad Jed's OK — he's making a good recovery by all accounts — and Bachar accepted responsibility, so as a club we just move on pretty quickly."
Hardwick's Carlton counterpart, Brendan Bolton, hailed Houli's concern for Lamb, which he showed after the game and multiple times throughout the week, and also applauded the league for its commitment to protecting the head of the players.
Booing Houli would be 'complete rubbish': AFL boss
Now the waiting game starts for Houli's return, for more reasons than his strong play at the back for the Tigers.
Aussie Rules legend Leigh Matthews earlier in the week said the perceived preferential treatment Houli received from the tribunal could result in "merciless" booing.
If that were to happen it would be "complete rubbish", according to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, because Houli was not to blame for the way the case was argued, nor was he to blame for the tribunal's initial decision.
"Other than Bachar's careless act, which happens in our game, the decision that he'd get two games has got nothing to do with him," McLachlan said on radio station 3AW.
"The way it was argued, that was a decision that the legal counsel made on Bachar's behalf. The decision of two games was the tribunal, it's got nothing to do with Bachar.
"And he's now got a four-game sanction and I think any response to that would be really disappointing."
The obvious parallel, which Matthews noted in his comments, was the treatment Adam Goodes experienced, particularly towards the end of his career.
And it would be less than ideal for the league, which McLachlan admitted acted too slowly in the Goodes case, to have its most prominent Muslim player singled out by fans after it was widely believed a significant portion of the abuse Indigenous star Goodes experienced was racially motivated.
