A marathon sitting of the National Rugby League judiciary turned into a night of high drama with the New Zealand Warriors seeking immediate leave to appeal the meagre three match ban handed to fullback Wade McKinnon for spitting at an NRL touch judge.
In a first for the NRL, McKinnon was found guilty of spitting at second-year touch judge Brett Suttor, though the three-match suspension amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist.
NRL prosecutor Peter Kite had recommended a ban of between nine and 11 matches for the "reprehensible" act.
But it was still enough for the Warriors to launch an appeal which, if granted by judiciary chairman Greg Woods later tonight, will be heard on Friday.
McKinnon is desperate to play in Saturday night's must-win final round match against Parramatta, the Warriors needing to beat the Eels and hope either Newcastle or Canberra lose to force their way into the finals.
The stunningly short suspension is further exacerbated by the fact that should McKinnon's ban be upheld and the Warriors lose this weekend, the livewire fullback would be able to serve the remaining two matches in pre-season trials at the beginning of next season.
McKinnon was alleged to have spat at Suttor as the touch judge made his way along the dead ball line to take up his position behind the posts after a try had been awarded to Penrith winger Luke Rooney during the Warriors' 42-20 win over the Panthers.
Suttor, who provided evidence at the hearing, claimed the spit missed him by only 30 centimetres, a claim defence counsel Geoff Bellew said was a "physical impossibility" given Suttor was six metres away.
While McKinnon did not deny spitting, he claimed it was simply something he did throughout the game as a result of saliva build up from a double mouthguard and a recent sinus problem which had required medication.
Suttor claimed McKinnon was abusing him over what he perceived was a missed forward pass in the lead-up to the try, but the Warriors fullback insisted it was teammate Micheal Luck who delivered the verbal spray.
"I didn't say a word," McKinnon said.
Kite claimed the intent came from the fact McKinnon spat at head height and not directly into the ground.
Asked by Kite if he normally spat at head height, McKinnon replied: "I don't have a traditional way of spitting."
In a statement issued late last night, Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah said the club was bitterly disappointed with McKinnon's suspension.
"We're devastated and disappointed that Wade has been found guilty on this charge," Scurrah said.
Earlier Newcastle hooker Matt Hilder was cleared of spitting on Melbourne winger Anthony Quinn, leaving him free to play in Friday night's vital NRL match against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
Hilder was let off despite video footage showing what looked like spittle hitting Quinn in the face.
So determined to give evidence against Hilder that he took time out from teammate Matt Geyer's testimonial dinner in Melbourne to appear via video link-up, Quinn inadvertently let the Knights hooker off the hook by admitting the spit may have been an accident.
"I looked away and wasn't watching what was going on," Quinn said.
"I felt a liquid substance hit my face.
"I'm not sure if it was intentional or not." Meanwhile, Bulldogs forward Nick Kouparitsas was found guilty of a careless high tackle and will miss Sunday's match against Canberra.
