Port Fairy player found guilty of intentional striking at independent tribunal

A remorseful Paddy Lee said he took full responsibility for his actions.

However, his recollection of the incident was that he struck Camperdown's Myles Sinnott with an open hand - not an elbow.

The incident occurred in the final quarter of Camperdown's round 14 Hampden league senior match against Port Fairy at Gardens Oval.

Lee said he had been surprised to see Sinnott had been knocked out after the incident, but acknowledged he believed it was probably his action that had caused the injury.

His player advocate Nick Hayes questioned the definition of intentional striking before entering a not guilty plea.

Hayes said the club and Lee were not disputing Lee's actions had caused Sinnott to suffer a dislocated jaw.

However, Lee's intent had been to "keep the ball in dispute" not to strike Sinnott.

Lee said he had watched the video of the incident a number of times.

"My memory of the incident and that video doesn't correlate," Lee said.

"I remember contact being made to his jaw with an open hand."

When asked, Lee conceded he could have made a better decision in his attempt to spoil the ball.

The 39-year-old admitted his actions were careless and reckless but said he never intended to strike the younger player.

"After the game I went and found out whether he was OK because I knew I had caused the injury - even if it was with an open palm," Lee told the independent tribunal on Thursday night.

Sinnott told the tribunal he had no recollection of the incident, which led to him suffering a dislocated jaw and missing one game due to a suspected concussion.

"I remember looking up and seeing them (Lee and one of his Camperdown teammates) coming at me and I don't remember anything after that," Sinnott said.

"I don't remember getting hit."

Lee said he was extremely remorseful for the incident.

"I feel sorry for him now having to go through that because he's only a 15-year-old kid," he said after Sinnott gave evidence to the tribunal.

"I'm glad he doesn't have a fracture - that was a concern but even the concussion itself isn't great."

Hayes said Lee was clearly shaken by the incident after the match.

"There's no argument from us at all that high contact was made and it was enough to cause the concussion and the injury," Hayes said.

"Paddy has played footy for a long, long time and has a wonderful record."

Hayes said Lee contacted Sinnott the day after the incident to find out if he was OK.

Lee was asked whether he could have bumped him or grabbed him around the waist to displace the ball.

"There are definitely things I could have done (differently)," Lee said.

The tribunal found Lee guilty of the charge.

"We as a tribunal would like to commend you for your honest approach and for your remorse," Lee was told by the panel.

He said the tribunal members believed while the intent was to to knock the ball, the action had resulted in a high tackle.

"We believe it was more careless than anything else."

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