Teenager Darcy Keane will watch his Hampden under 16 team vie for a premiership from the sidelines after suffering a broken jaw against Port Fairy at Gardens Oval on Sunday.

The Saints released a statement on Wednesday highlighting their disappointment after Keane was hurt in the second quarter of the round 13 match.

Koroit junior president Alistair McCosh said the Saints would pursue the matter with vigour, stressing there was no place for violence in sport.

“Our club is devastated for young Darcy who now has three plates and 12 screws in his face following this off-the-ball incident,” he said.

“The club has decided to go public and ask if there were any witnesses at the game to come forward to give their account of what they saw which resulted in Darcy’s major facial injuries.

“As a club we accept that injuries will occur in play, but we cannot accept that any player on either side should receive multiple fractures to the face when they are not contesting for the football.”

The statement emphasised the Saints’ commitment to ensuring the matter was fully investigated  “as it is essential that penalties apply to any player who has disregard for other players’ safety and the basic duty of care that should be present on the field”.

Koroit refused to speculate on which player was involved, backing the investigation process to determine what happened.