THE MELBOURNE Football Club confirms it will appeal the decision made by the AFL Tribunal, in relation to the striking charge against key forward Jacob van Rooyen.

Melbourne will now fight the charge, which was graded as Striking – Careless Conduct, High Contact, High Impact, at the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday night.

The club initially contested the sanction on Tuesday night at the AFL Tribunal, arguing that van Rooyen’s sole intention was to spoil the ball, and that the incident was simply a football accident. After deliberation, the AFL Tribunal decided that van Rooyen’s two-match suspension for Striking would be upheld.