THE NRL last night defended its judicial process after Warriors fullback Wade McKinnon was found guilty of spitting at a match official - only to be handed a three-match suspension for an offence labelled "reprehensible" during the hearing.

The Warriors signalled their intention to appeal against the decision, even though the NRL's counsel had urged the panel to suspend the fullback for up to 11 matches after an incident during the clash with Penrith last Sunday.

The three-man panel of Royce Ayliffe, Darren Britt and Bob Lindner took almost 50 minutes to find McKinnon guilty of spitting at touch judge Brett Suttor, but decided to give him a suspension that could see him play again this year, even though he was suspended for two matches last year for shoving referee Jason Robinson.

"The judiciary panel is made up of three former high-profile players whose responsibility is to hear the evidence and make a decision based on that evidence," NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said after the hearing. "In making their decision, they take into consideration all the relevant facts placed before them and any directions from the chairman, and their decision is final, subject to the appeal provisions of the NRL rules. We have absolute confidence in the integrity and the ability of the panellists charged with that responsibility."

The Warriors issued a statement after the hearing, with CEO Wayne Scurrah saying the club was "devastated and disappointed that Wade has been found guilty" and declared McKinnon had been treated unfairly.

But the suspension was curious. NRL counsel Peter Kite urged the panel to consider a penalty of between nine and 11 matches, describing the offence as "particularly reprehensible, made worse by the fact that it's directed at a match official". He also said McKinnon had been cautioned for dissent by referee Ben Cummins five minutes before the altercation with Suttor.

McKinnon unsuccessfully argued that he had been suffering from a sinus infection and also spat regularly because he wore upper and lower mouthguards after suffering a fractured palate in 2006, also against Penrith.

When it was put to McKinnon, by Kite, that he had spat in Suttor's direction, the fullback replied: "If I'm running, I spit, if I'm standing there, I spit. I don't have a traditional way of spitting."

He also maintained he did not say anything to Suttor. "When the try was scored, I yelled out 'the touchie stopped, the touchie stopped'," he said. "I was just listening to Micheal Luck, who was blowing up at the ref … I cleared my throat and walked back to the huddle."

Asked by his counsel, Geoff Bellew, if he was conscious of the fact Suttor was nearby when he spat, McKinnon said: "No, I was just spitting on the ground."

Suttor said the spit landed about 30 centimetres from him and just missed his right knee, but Bellew said that was "almost an impossibility" because the two were at least five metres apart.

Meanwhile, Newcastle utility Matt Hilder was found not guilty of spitting at Melbourne winger Anthony Quinn, however the bad blood - or at least some other mystery "liquid substance" - between the two players is set to continue.

After beating a contrary conduct charge by successfully arguing he did not intentionally spit at Quinn, Hilder said he hoped to meet Melbourne in the finals to "get him that way". "I was a little bit disappointed," Hilder said of Quinn's accusation. "Since I didn't think it was intentional, and I'm pretty sure he didn't think it was intentional, to see him come out and say I actually meant to spit on him was a bit of a shock. I've played with him in junior NSW teams. I thought he was a good bloke. I've got nothing against him. Hopefully we can come up against them in the semis and get him that way."

Asked about the video footage which appears to show white specks near his mouth, Hilder said: "There's definitely something there. I'm not too sure what it is. I can't say 100 per cent that it isn't [spit]. If it is, it wasn't intentional to spit at Anthony Quinn.

"It could be a moth. It could be anything. It could be spit."

Quinn said he "felt a liquid substance hit me in the face", and revealed he considered chasing Hilder before deciding to confront him after the game.