Andrew Fifita has been unsuccessful in having his dangerous contact charge downgraded at a judiciary hearing tonight, ruling him out of the Tongan team for their Test match against New Zealand on Saturday.

Fifita challenged his grade two charge stemming from a tackle on Canberra’s Ryan Sutton in the eighth minute of the match last Thursday night and after a lengthy hearing the three-man judiciary panel agreed with the match review, finding him guilty as charged.

The Sharks prop will now miss the Test this weekend and then the next two matches for the Sharks in the NRL Telstra Premiership.

Already in Auckland ahead of the Test Match, Fifita appeared in front of the judiciary via video link. With the NRL having no games scheduled this weekend due to the representative matches, Fifita has remained in Auckland with the Tongan squad.