West Coast defender Liam Baker will be sidelined for the Eagles’ opening match of the 2026 season after the AFL Tribunal upheld his one-match suspension on Tuesday night.

Baker had challenged the ban for a high bump on Sydney’s Chad Warner during the second quarter of Saturday night’s clash at Optus Stadium.

The Match Review Officer graded the incident as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.

The Eagles attempted to downgrade the impact from medium to low but were unsuccessful.