Veteran St Kilda ruckman Paddy Ryder is set to come under MRO scrutiny for a bump on Hawthorn youngster Will Day.
Ryder made front-on contact with Day that resulted in the latter being subbed out at half-time of Sunday’s match at the MCG with concussion.
Speaking post-game, Saints coach Brett Ratten believes Ryder’s bump “looked pretty fair”.
“I saw the incident on replay, and I’ll let the Tribunal or anybody look at it and make an assessment," Ratten said after St Kilda’s 69-point win.
“It did look like he did hit him pretty much up the front. It’s going to hurt somebody, he was quite open there.
“It looked pretty fair to me, but we’ll let others make those calls. That’s why they’re in the game to make these calls.”
Nathan Buckley and Garry Lyon debated the Ryder incident on SEN Breakfast.
Buckley: “They (St Kilda) will say what other option did he (Ryder) have? And Will Day … I can’t believe a player keeps himself that open, there’s going be contact, and he just ran into him really openly.
“He (Ryder) didn’t run through him. This is what you see quite often when it comes to front-on contact, or someone turns their body and braces for contact and the other one doesn’t.
Lyon: “So you’re saying Day ran into Ryder?”
Buckley: “I think so.”
Lyon: “I don’t.”
Buckley: “Do you think he’s in trouble?”
Lyon: “Yep. Paddy’s in trouble That’s my opinion.”
Buckley: “I fundamentally don’t believe in legislating against the worst-case scenario or for potential injury – and that’s the slippery slope we’ve got caught in.
“The game has got too soft if that’s a suspension.
Lyon: “My response to that is if you read the articles over the weekend on concussion, then you can’t be too soft.
“He (Ryder) had an option, Bucks. He had an option.”
Buckley: “It’s not a non-contact game, it is not touch footy. We’re going to have contact.
“It’s the medico legal aspects of it that are under consideration consistently.”
Lyon: “So you would think that what Paddy Ryder did was fine, and that Will Day was the one that was responsible for his own concussion?
Buckley: “Yes.”
Lyon: “That’s fine, I disagree.
“I think Paddy had the option to not do what he did. It wasn’t vicious by any stretch of the imagination.
“Even he knew straight away and went to help Will out.”
Buckley: “Should you reasonably expect contact in that circumstance?
“My thoughts are when you go onto the footy field, you should reasonably expect contact at nearly every point of the game.”
Lyon: “To the head?”
Buckley: “Not to the head, no.”
Lyon: “That’s the point.”
Buckley: “The contact was to the body and the head whiplashed down onto his shoulder.”
Day has entered concussion protocols and will miss Hawthorn’s Easter Monday clash against Geelong.