An ugly moment has shaken the AFL with a star set aside, face down on the grass, while fans call for a long ban.
Football fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing when Geelong star defender Tom Stewart flattened Richmond’s Dion Prestia in the first quarter.
When Prestia jumped to give a high ball to a teammate, Stewart passed in front of the Tigers ’foot and midfielder with his left shoulder hitting Prestia’s head.
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Prestia was cold on the MCG deck as the game continued around him despite medical staff attending to him.
The midfielder was finally helped to his feet and was grabbed to the ground by medical staff and immediately taken to the rooms.
Stewart’s impact caused the defender to be denounced and he could be seen looking for several weeks on the sidelines.
“An absolutely disgusting headbutt to Dion Prestia,” Peter Brown tweeted.
Jon Ralph said the impact could see Stewart sent straight to court and facing off in more than three weeks.
“Intentional and high impact are three games. Intentional and severe is directly in court. Tom Stewart has already been reported, “Ralph tweeted.
Garry Lyon of Fox Footy was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn’t move the ball around with his usual grace.
“This is a great story that unfolds here. You would think they would stop the game,” Lyon said.
Anthony Hudson was equally baffled: “The foot is in the area, so one would think there would be some care and common sense.”
“Why haven’t they stopped the game, surely one of those referees takes control,” Lyon said.
The Cats jumped as Prestia was helped off the ground while Tyson Stengle scored his team’s fourth goal of the quarter.
“Well done by Geelong and Tyson Stengle, but the farce situation is that Richmond has been a low-key player for most of three minutes and has paid the price,” Lyon said.
David King applied the heat to the MRO who has not made a statement about contact with his head held high.
“It’s definitely under scrutiny by the MRO, and let’s be honest, the MRO has been tipping over this situation for 12-18 months and we haven’t changed the behavior of the players,” King said.
“This is going to be the biggest story of the weekend.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott was seen talking to Stewart during the break of the quarter, no doubt trying to keep his star’s head in the game.
“He walks his foot, makes contact with his head up and that’s as clear as we’ve seen for a while,” Lyon said.
“It doesn’t look good at all. You’ll be disappointed, Tommy Stewart, when you see it.”
Prestia was replaced in the competition with Ivan Soldo replacing the Tigers.
The impact once against sparked the conversation around the AFL that introduced an expulsion rule with many in favor of incorporating one.
“This Stewart hit is why Footy needs an expulsion rule. If he continues to star in a big Cats win, he’ll be terribly upset,” Rudi Edsall of Triple M wrote.
Nic Negrepontis of SEN said: “It’s hard to disagree. You’ll only need it a maximum of 4 times a year. Today would be one of them. The Tigers are absolutely paralyzed at losing Prestia.
Originally posted as Dion Prestia knocked out by Tom Stewart at an ugly time