SYDNEY Swans star Luke Parker has failed in his bid to clear a rough conduct charge at the Tribunal on Tuesday night, receiving his first strike and an increased $1500 fine.
Parker pleaded not guilty after it was alleged he breached his duty of care by making contact to Grant Birchall's abdomen with his left foot during last Saturday's clash at ANZ Stadium.
The midfielder said he was attempting to spin in the air after he took possession of the ball so he could feed a quick handball to teammate Kieren Jack.
After showing three other examples from this season where he kicked a leg out in the air, Parker said the action was designed to help him balance and spin.
He said the action was not designed to protect himself from contact, but the jury of Wayne Henwood, Shane Wakelin and Richard Loveridge upheld the MRP's finding.
Click here to read the MRP's full statement from round 16
"There was nothing intentional in what I did," Parker told the Tribunal.
"My thought was to go back with the flight of the ball and I thought I was the only person who could contest.
"Because it was a ‘play on’ call I thought I needed to twist my body mid-air to feed off a handball.
"It was a balance thing for me. I had to keep my feet … and it was hard for me to control the leg basically."
AFL legal counsel Jeff Gleeson argued the action was "not instinctive and not explained by an attempt to balance", and Parker had "breached his duty of care by raising a boot towards the midriff area of another player."
Hawthorn's medical report was used as evidence, stating Birchall had required further treatment for scratches and stop marks to his abdomen.
Parker could have accepted a $1000 fine with an early guilty plea but chose to challenge the charge, risking an extra $500 sanction.
The charge was graded by the MRP as careless conduct, low impact and body contact.
Swans teammate Ted Richards will miss the club's important clash with West Coast after earlier accepting an 'engaging in rough conduct' charge for the bump on Mitchell.
The 32-year-old decided not to contest the charge on Tuesday morning after the MRP assessed the incident as careless conduct with medium impact to Mitchell's head.
Richards was the only real casualty of the MRP this week, with the match-day report against Collingwood ruckman Jarrod Witts for tripping thrown out by the panel.
Gold Coast big man Tom Lynch was spotted for his trip on Greater Western Sydney's Ryan Griffen, with Lynch accepting a $1000 fine with an early plea.
GWS midfielder Stephen Coniglio was charged with rough conduct for his 'chicken-wing' tackle on Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett, with the MRP offering Coniglio a $1000 sanction which he accepted on Tuesday.
Essendon forward Paddy Ambrose accepted a $1000 fine having been charged with rough conduct on North midfielder Jamie Macmillan in Friday night's game.
Jackson Trengove's off-the-ball whack to Josh Jenkins' stomach earned him a $1000 fine after the MRP graded the incident as intentional conduct with low impact to the body.
The Power defender is free to play against the Bombers at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
St Kilda's Coleman Medal contender Josh Bruce was charged with striking Dylan Grimes in Sunday's meeting between the clubs, but is another player who is has accepted the fine and will play this weekend.
Bruce was grappling with Grimes before throwing back his elbow, which struck Grimes' head.
Bombers Michael Hibberd and Michael Hurley, North Melbourne pair Taylor Garner and Shaun Atley, Freo forward Hayden Ballantyne and Carlton's Dylan Buckley were all hit with wrestling and melee fines.
