ROBINVALE Euston’s star ruckman, Ethan Gill, has been found not guilty of intentionally striking Ouyen United’s Jake Cresp, boosting the Eagles’ finals aspirations ahead of a final round top four clash with Wentworth this Saturday.
Gill appeared before the tribunal after being red carded for an incident off the ball during the Eagles’ 10-point win over the Kangas last weekend.
While the tribunal heard evidence from umpire Ben Frost, Gill and Cresp, Sunraysia Daily understands there was no match day video evidence available.
The not guilty result means Gilll keeps his clean record and is free to be selected to face Wentworth in the twilight game at George Gordon Oval.
Gill said while he did make high contact with Cresp, he did not think the incident merited an appearance at the tribunal.
“I never thought that the incident was worthy of a card at all,” Gill said. “It was probably a free kick, and we could have moved on from there.
“I did end up hitting him high in the end, but it was not the intent at all.
“I’m not sure if the umpire had a full view of the decision. I think he might have got it a little bit wrong.”
Sunraysia Football Netball League executive officer Peter Walker said Gill presented evidence at the tribunal to say that he had been attempting to take up a defensive position in the goal square when the ball, at the time near the boundary at Ouyen United’s 50m arc, appeared to be heading toward the goals.
Gill told the tribunal that as Cresp was blocking him when he tried to establish position, he fended off, striking the Kangas player in the chest before the motion slipped upward.
Walker said Cresp told the tribunal that he and Gill came together, and he felt contact with his chest and jaw area before going to the ground.
The tribunal’s decision hinged on whether this constituted a deliberate strike and decided it was not.
Robinvale Euston have surged into premiership calculations after a six-game winning streak and are locked into a clash with Ouyen United in the first semi final on Sunday, August 28.
Ouyen United president Mal Carruthers said while he understood why there would not be a set penalty for a red card, if the case was “serious enough” to go to tribunal, it was “serious enough to warrant a week”.
“If an umpire reports a guy and sends him with a red card and he gets found innocent at the tribunal – you’d think the tribunal would support umpires in this case,” Carruthers said.
Carruthers said he did not see the incident and that it was a shame there was no footage of it.
He said he believed the person scheduled to take footage of the game contracted COVID-19 and there was no back up camera person available.
Walker said he had spoken to Dartfish, the company which provides match day footage of SFNL games, and they confirmed the camera person had called in sick on Saturday morning.
Carruthers said Ouyen United’s preparation for the first semi final would not be any different given Gill’s inclusion and said Cresp would be good to go if selected.
