Smith To Miss Bulldogs Game
GIANTS forward Devon Smith has failed in his bid to overturn a striking charge, with the Tribunal upholding his one-match ban on Tuesday evening.
GIANTS forward Devon Smith has failed in his bid to overturn a striking charge, with the Tribunal upholding his one-match ban on Tuesday evening.
Smith's striking charge was upheld after an application from GWS tocall Demons midfielder Bernie Vince to give evidence was denied.
Smith struck Vince in the back in the second quarter of Sunday's clash at Spotless Stadium, drawing 125 demerit points.
Becauseof his poor record, Smith was offered a one-match ban with 93.75carry-over points, meaning the 20-year-old couldn't accept a reprimandwith an early guilty plea.
Based on video evidenceand a medical report from Melbourne, the offence was assessed asintentional conduct, low impact and body contact.
"He (Vince) is a mate of mine and as we got up I gave him a push," Smith told the Tribunal.
"It was a wet day, he lost his footing, and the rest is history.
"After that I looked at Bernie, he smiled at me and gave me a wink."
AFLcounsel Jeff Gleeson encouraged the jury to reject Smith's evidencethat Vince had lost his footing in the wet and said there was sufficientforce in the strike to constitute a report.
"Here there is a completely unsuspecting player, unguarded and unable to protect himself," Gleeson said.
Smith'sadvocate Sean Carroll used behind-the-goal footage to show Vincecontinued to play and take part in multiple contests after he wasstruck.
"If this level of force is used to gauge areportable offence, we'll have players reported time and time again,"Carroll told the Tribunal.