Sandow pleaded not guilty to two charges - kneeing and striking - stemming from an incident with Koroit's Tom Couch in round 12 clash a Victoria Park on July 13.

He was found guilty of kneeing and not guilty of striking.

Couch suffered bruised kidneys and broken ribs and spent the Monday night after the game in St John of God Hospital in Geelong.

He expects to miss the remainder of the season and plans to move to the United States later this year.

Couch said the injury had "effectively ended my career".

"It is disappointing, I didn't see it ending like this," he said.

Couch rated the pain a 10 out of 10.

"If you're going to drive your knees into someone that is intentional," he said.

Sandow admitted to making contact but said it was accidental.

"As I have approached Tom, a metre before I heard the whistle, (I was) going full pace on a mud slop of a ground, I made contact but no reasonable way I could avoid contact," he said.

"I have tried to go over him."

Witness, Koroit forward Will Couch, was questioned longer than Sandow by South Warrnambool advocate Michael Crutchfield.

Tribunal chairman David Gladman at times had to address Crutchfield.

"Where is this leading to? What point are you trying to make?," he said.

"You need to get to the question, you're putting words in his mouth. What is your question to Will?"

Crutchfield started the tribunal asking for the cases to be thrown out, saying the investigation was "flawed, incomplete and rushed".

The tribunal took his request into consideration but decided to proceed.

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.