St Kilda have remarkably beaten Leigh Montagna’s striking charge without needing to go before the AFL Tribunal.
The Saints had decided to challenge Montagna’s match review panel charge for striking Melbourne opponent James Magner and he was facing a three-match ban if the tribunal found him guilty.
But tribunal counsel Jeff Gleeson decided to withdraw the charge only a couple of hours before the hearing after speaking to the two players.
They told Gleeson that the Demons midfielder had to leave the field under the blood rule because of an accidental knee to the face from the Saints midfielder.
“Considering that (a) Montagna and Magner would give evidence to this effect and (b) there was no credible basis on which to responsibly cross-examine them to the contrary – I have determined that there is no reasonable prospect that the jury would find that the offence of striking was committed,” Gleeson said in a statement.
“Further, I do not believe that the jury would find that any other reportable offence occurred and so there is no basis for amending the charge.
“I note, in this regard, that the contact from Montagna’s knee appears to have been an accidental consequence of him having fallen/been pulled to the ground.”
Gleeson spoke to Montagna and Magner after the Saints told him they wanted to call the Melbourne player as a witness at the hearing.
The Saints have a massive block of games ahead, starting with out-of-form Hawthorn this Saturday night and then Carlton, West Coast in Perth and Sydney at home.