A KOROIT premiership player has been dealt a five-week suspension after pleading guilty at the Hampden league's independent tribunal.
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Saints utility Jayden Whitehead was found guilty of unbecoming conduct after striking South Warrnambool's Kieran Timms during the second quarter of Koroit's reserves second semi-final triumph on September 7.
The case was brought to the tribunal after an investigation was launched by the Hampden league.
The tribunal was shown video evidence of the incident in which Whitehead struck Timms while chasing the ball out of congestion.
I remember for the rest of the game my depth perception was impacted and I had headaches and soreness in my jaw.
- Kieran Timms
Timms said there was no provocation and that he was "pulled in with one hand, and struck to the face with the other".
He said he was knocked unconscious as a result of the blow and was assisted from the ground by trainers, but returned to play out the rest of the match.
"Going to the bench I couldn't articulate what had happened," Timms said.
"I remember for the rest of the game my depth perception was impacted and I had headaches and soreness in my jaw."
Timms said he visited a doctor on the Monday after the incident and was forced to miss two days of work as a VCE teacher following a concussion test.
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He revealed Whitehead reached out to apologise two weeks later.
Whitehead's advocate Peter McElgunn said he was initially struck in the midriff region which prompted the reaction.
Whitehead, a former TAC Cup-listed player, said he felt "immediate and deep remorse" and took full responsibility for his actions.
"It was just an out of the blue incident, things got the better of me in the moment," he said.
When quizzed as to why he hadn't contacted Timms earlier, Whitehead said he was unaware the Rooster had been impacted by the blow.
"I saw that he missed out playing the week after and messaged one of his teammates (to ask)," he said.
"I wasn't sure how to approach it."
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