Penrith prop Sam McKendry will contest his contrary conduct charge for touching a referee at NRL judiciary on Wednesday night.

McKendry was given a grade-one charge for the second-half incident in Monday night’s 20-16 win over the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.

The prop put the back of his hand on referee Jared Maxwell’s chest to draw his attention after the referee denied Panthers captain Matt Moylan a try late in the match.

The Panthers say they sought legal advice on the matter before electing to challenge the charge.

Had the former Kiwi representative accepted the charge, he still would have missed this Sunday’s game against Cronulla.

Bulldogs forward David Klemmer beat a similar charge before the judiciary last month when the referee in question, Ben Cummins, provided evidence to support him.