ALBURY Tigers star Joel Mackie will miss Saturday's clash with Wodonga after being found guilty of striking by the Ovens and Murray tribunal on Wednesday night.
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The two-time Morris medallist pleaded not guilty to striking Wodonga Raiders’ Connor Newnham, but was handed a two-match ban, with one of those suspended for 12 months.
Albury advocate Gavan Schultz argued that the contact made to Newnham was not of sufficient enough force to make out the charge.
The evidence provided by Newnham assisted Mackie's case, with the Raiders forward saying Mackie “hardly hit me.”
Schultz said any contact Mackie made to Newnham was unintentional.
“Any contact Joel made to Connor was unintentional, and low impact,” he said.
The tribunal disagreed, finding that the contact was intentional.
They then had to decide whether the impact of the contact was low enough for the charge to be dismissed.
While conceding that the contact made was “on the low end of low-impact,” tribunal chairman Wayne Taylor said it was nonetheless of sufficient force for the charge to be made out.
“We are of the view that a punch was thrown intentionally,” he said.
“However, the tribunal guidelines note that low impact requires a strike to be of more than just negligible impact.
“We believe the contact made, while low-impact, was higher than negligible, and as such the charge is proven.”