Koroit premiership stars Will Couch, Alex Pulling hit with suspensions at tribunal on Monday night

Couch will miss the crunch round five clash against Warrnambool in a couple of weeks after being slapped with a one-match ban.

Pulling was handed a two-week suspension and will miss matches against the Blues and Camperdown.

Both incidents occurred in the Good Friday clash against South Warrnambool on April 7 towards young Rooster Myles McCluggage.

Couch was initially offered a four-week ban by the Match Review Panel but decided to challenge the ban. In front of the independent tribunal he pleaded guilty to intentionally or carelessly engaging in rough conduct during an attempted tackle in the final quarter.

Koroit advocate and prosecutor reviewed footage of the incident, McCluggage said impact came to the throat with a raised elbow after attempting to tackle the Saints forward.

McCluggage received a free kick before being attended to by the club doctor on the bench and returning to the ground "within five minutes"

"Will had the footy, came in to tackle and got me with the elbow in the throat, but not the head," he said of the incident.

"It hurt a bit at the time but I was able to keep playing once I got the all clear. It was pretty front on."

Couch argued the point of contact was just above the sternum, not with the elbow and with no intent to cause injury.

"I led up to the ball, it was very slippery and as I went to pick it up I put my feet up and put up my palm to fend off, " he said.

"I'm 98kg, there's a lot of weight. (It) was just two blokes running at each other.

"(It was) completely unattended. I have a big role at Koroit in the forward line now after we've won seven premierships in a row and I need to be there.

"I also sent him a text that night saying 'I'm very sorry for what happened and much respect for playing out the game'."

The prosecutor argued impact had to be deemed medium at a minimum because of the potential to cause serious injury with the Koroit advocate arguing it was a careless action with the intent to fend off and should be deemed careless and low impact.

The independent tribunal deliberated before handing Couch a one-week penalty.

"We acknowledge the guilty plea and under consideration grade it as careless, low and high which attracts a one-week suspension," the chairperson stated.

In the second tribunal hearing, Pulling was cited for a dangerous tackle on McCluggage in the second quarter and offered a three-week ban for intentionally or carelessly engaging in rough conduct, downgraded to two with an early guilty plea by the Match Review Panel.

The speedy winger pleaded guilty to carelessly engaging in rough conduct.

Vision captured Pulling tackle McCluggage near the boundary line before the young Rooster received a free kick and kicked a goal before leaving the ground.

He was assessed by the club doctor and returned to the ground within five minutes.

McCluggage said it was a hard tackle and confirmed he had a headache "initially on impact" but none afterwards.

"I picked up the footy and Alex was on me, I got rid of it and both arms were pinged. I got slung into the ground," he said.

"I hit my head on the ground pretty hard."

Pulling said he had no intention to "sling tackle" McCluggage and believed his opponent still had possession of the ball.

"I wanted to get him out of bounds and have gone through with the momentum, I've gone down first, it was pretty slippery," he said.

"I never meant for it to end the way it did. I didn't know the ball had come out of his hands therefore didn't let go of the tackle.

"Not denying it happened but it certainly wasn't intentional and it was unfortunate he's hit his head."

When asked whether McCluggage was fortunate to not be concussed, Pulling said "I'd say the shoulder took most of the force but yeah it was fortunate".

The prosecutor argued it was a sling tackle and said while "the impact may not be severe" the grading for it causing potential serious injury should be considered.

"The tackle itself could have caused a major issue. Maybe it's careless, contact high but I believe the impact is definitely not low, it has to start at medium at a minimum," he said.

"We've got to take it out of the game."

While Pulling's advocate argued "careless was correct" in the circumstances he denied it was a dangerous sling tackle because his player fell to the ground before McCluggage and went with the "momentum" instead of engaging in a slinging motion.

"He's had a bang to the head but there were no ongoing issues in regards to his participation in the game," he said.

"The impact of the head contact did not create anything above low. We agree with high but I want to make the point Alex believed he wasn't sure where the ball was in which case he's entitled to maintain his grip.

"We saw his shoulder go into the ground and it was the weight and momentum of the two bodies rather than a sling motion."

After a brief deliberation, Pulling was handed a two-week ban.

"We feel the impact was medium, which imposes a two-week suspension," the chairperson said.

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