A Geelong star faces a long stay on the sidelines after the AFL gave its conclusions of its ugly blow that left an opponent knocked out.
Tom Stewart of Geelong could miss up to a month for the Cats after his success at Richmond’s Dion Prestia caused him to be sent directly to the AFL Court.
The incident with Prestia in the first quarter was assessed as negligent conduct, severe impact and high contact.
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The rating of success means Stewart is looking at the barrel of a three-week minimum ban.
Prestia was cold while lying on the grass before being helped to his feet by several medical professionals and taken off the field.
Stewart played a prominent role for the Cats in a contest that football fans called the game of the year.
Now it’s likely to miss Geelongs ’matches against North Melbourne, Melbourne and Carlton.
The ugly incident prompted fans to call for the AFL to introduce an expulsion rule with former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes leading the charge.
“Let’s be blatantly honest about it, Tom Stewart should have been kicked out for that success,” he told the Sunday Footy Show.
“There should be a sin in the AFL for serious incidents like this because that was the difference in the game.
“At the end of that round, Richmond may be out of the eight at the back of that shot that knocked out Dion Prestia and Tom Stewart was allowed to stay there.
“What is valid for the integrity of the competition? You can’t have Richmond penalized like that, lose a game, be out of the eight and potentially miss the final because of that hit.
“For serious incidents like this, and can only happen once a year, the team can not be rewarded. The opposition loses their best player and their best player stays and wins the game. I think the AFL needs to look at a video review system. “