ST KILDA defender Tom Simpkin has been charged with a level three striking offence (225 demerit points, two-match sanction) for striking Melbourne forward Chris Dawes during the second quarter of Saturday’s clash at the MCG.

In summary, due to Simpkin’s previous poor record, his two-game sanction must remain at two games, even with an early plea.

Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from Melbourne, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points).

This was a total of six activation points, resulting in a classification of a level two offence, drawing 225 demerit points and a two-match sanction.

He has 93.75 demerit points carried over from within the last 12 months, increasing the penalty to 318.75 points and a three-match sanction. An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent to 239.06 points and a two-match sanction.