Forms submitted to the match review panel asked them to investigate a melee between Leopold and Bell Park during the first quarter of last Saturday’s season opener.

However footage shown to the tribunal showed Ruggles and Dragon Aaron Hutchinson clash before the scuffle between the two teams on the outer wing at Hamlyn Park.

The technicality left the tribunal panel of Rob Sodomaco, Geoff Stribley and chairman Phil Swindells with no option but to throw out the charge.

It means 21-year-old Ruggles is free to play against St Albans on Saturday.

Speaking to the Geelong Advertiser after the hearing, umpire advocate Mick Graham said he had faith in the match review panel system.

“It’s a good system, there is good clear vision. It’s not something with poor vision,” Graham said.

“It’s a good process … it’s good for the players, they are aware that the system is in place and hopefully it gets better football going through the systems.

“It’s just an education process for us, it’s the first one for the year and it’ll be a learning curve. I am sure our members will make sure they detail things a little bit better next time if it occurs.”

Under AFL Barwon rules umpires must request a specific incident be investigated.

The match review panel was brought into the competition this season and replaces the previous system of umpires boss Scott McLeod reviewing every game of the home-and-away season.

A relieved Ruggles, a former Geelong Falcon and Werribee VFL player, said he was looking forward to playing on the weekend.

Dowd said the match review panel had the full support of the clubs.

“The clubs are in favour of the MRP because it is designed to stop things which shouldn’t be happening in our game … So the clubs want it to be right, AFL Barwon want it to be right and the umpires want it to be right,” Dowd said.

Dowd said it was vital the league, the umpires and the clubs learned from the match review panel’s opening case.

“So it is important now that after tonight we realise we haven’t got the process right and we make sure we get it right so that any cases that do come up in the future are dealt with on their merits and we don’t have to go through the process that we went through tonight,” he said.

“In this instance what has happened is the match review panel has looked at an incident outside the scope of what they were supposed to do.

“We are here to defend a case purely based on what the charge was concerning to, which was a melee. The video clearly shows, and the umpires agree, that during that melee there is no case to answer to.”

MEANWHILE, Torquay will be without Matthew Johnston after he was handed a two game ban for making front on contact with Geelong Amateur star Andrew Lovick.

Johnston pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Swindells agreed Johnston didn’t have the intention of making high contact, but said the player had a duty of care to his opponents.

Swindells said Johnston had other options and that the outcome of the bump “could have been more serious”.

Lovick told the tribunal that he didn’t see the contact coming, had his head over the ball and felt a little dazed after the contact.

Johnston went back and checked on Lovick after the contact.