A YOUNG Margaret River footballer will miss this weekend's colts grand final after he was suspended for striking a fellow player.
The South West Football League tribunal found Augusta-Margaret River colts player Jake Rodgers guilty of striking on Tuesday night and handed him a two match suspension.
The incident took place late in the fourth quarter of the Hawks preliminary final against the Bunbury Bulldogs and saw Rodgers given a yellow card by umpire Scott Jones.
Augusta-Margaret River Hawks president Shane Payne said he was "flabbergasted" at the decision and feels the tribunal go it wrong.
"I was just devastated for Jake and his family," he said.
Mr Payne said the club submitted substantial evidence to the tribunal in their attempt to clear Rodgers' name including video footage of the incident.
But the tribunal ruled against him, ending his grand final prospects.
Payne said the club had considered appealing the decision but decided it would not be beneficial to the team or to Rodgers.
An unsuccessful appeal would increase his penalty from two weeks to four.
The club made a decision on Wednesday night to let the issue rest for the sake of Rodgers record.
The 17-year-old player plans to head to Perth next year to pursue football in the West Australian Football League.
As a part of the ruling Rodgers is not able to set foot on the field during the match, being forced to watch on from the sidelines.
The Augusta-Margaret River Mail understands after the match, which the Hawks won, Rodgers was struck by a Bunbury player as he shook hands with his opponents, knocking him to the ground.
The incident, which happened after the final siren, falls outside the tribunal's reach.
Payne said Rodgers is awaiting the results of a facial scan to see if any lasting damage has been done.
Margaret River police officer-in-charge Sergeant Brett Cassidy said he understood the Rodgers' family were considering filing a complaint against a Bunbury player.
"If Mr Rodgers was to pursue the incident as a matter of assault, then the police would gather and interview witnesses from the match," he said.
"They would then hand their findings to the Bunbury police to follow protocol in the area where the incident occured."
The Augusta-Margaret River Hawks will take on the Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault Lions on Sunday from 9.15am to see who is crowned this year's South West Football League colts champion.
