Wagga Tigers coach Shaun Campbell is free to play on Saturday after being found not guilty at the AFL Riverina independent tribunal on Thursday night.
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Campbell was found not guilty by the tribunal for high front on contact when representing Riverina League in the interleague game against Farrer League at Robertson Oval last Saturday week.
The tribunal ruled that the video evidence was not clear enough to find Campbell guilty but chairman Kevin Barber warned the Tigers coach that he must ‘change his style'.
The hearing came about after Campbell was charged by the match review panel for a bump on Farrer League player Luke Gerhard and offered a two-game suspension with an early guilty plea.
Campbell was relieved to be cleared by the tribunal.
"I'm super happy," Campbell said.
"It was great to see common sense prevail.”
Evidence from Gerhard and Temora president Peter Gerhard proved crucial in the hearing but was later rubbished by the tribunal when handing down the verdict.
Luke Gerhard told the tribunal the contact was side on and shoulder on shoulder. He said there was ‘no contact to the head at all’ and ‘played the whole game out with not a drama’.
Barber told the Temora pair that 'he was not impressed' by their evidence whatsoever.
It was a great result for Campbell, who had already missed Tigers' opening three games due to a suspension he received from a pre-season trial game.
He returned with a best-on-ground performance in the interleague game, then backed it up with a match-winning effort for Tigers in their two-point win over Narrandera last Saturday.
Meantime, Northern Jets midfielder Jack Fisher will miss the next two games after being suspended by the AFL Riverina independent tribunal on Thursday night.
Fisher successfully had his rough conduct charge downgraded at the hearing at AFL House.
The tribunal found Fisher guilty of rough conduct, a sling tackle, on Charles Sturt Univesity player Jack Thompson.
A disappointed Fisher declined to comment. He will miss Saturday's game against Marrar, followed by the game against Coleambally.
Thompson was also given a one-game suspension for front on contact on Northern Jets’ Jade Curtis.
Thompson successfully had his charge downgraded at the tribunal to careless, low impact and high contact.
He will miss the Bushpigs’ clash with The Rock-Yerong Creek on Saturday.
Thompson was pleased with the result.
“I’m happy with the outcome,” Thompson said.