KEY FORWARD Jacob van Rooyen has had his two-match suspension for Striking upheld at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.

The decision comes after the club contested the Match Review Officer’s grading of Careless Conduct, High Contact, High Impact, arguing that van Rooyen’s sole intention was to contest the ball, at no stage did he intend to cause harm to Gold Coast Suns player Charlie Ballard and that the incident was merely a football accident.

The collision between van Rooyen and Ballard occurred in the final quarter of Melbourne’s Round 8 match at Heritage Bank Stadium.

Having reached out to the Suns following the incident, the club confirmed Ballard had recovered well and is expected to play this weekend.

The club will consider all its options before accepting the AFL Tribunal’s decision.