Brisbane forward Eric Hipwood has been referred straight to the Tribunal for an incident involving a field umpire.
Hipwood’s push on Ryan Gardner saw the Western Bulldogs defender clatter into umpire Jacob Mollison.
The chain of events occurred during the third quarter in the Lions’ 41-point win over the Bulldogs at the Gabba on Thursday night.
Match Review Officer Michael Christian decided not to grade the incident, instead directing Hipwood straight to the Tribunal.
Nathan Buckley thinks Hipwood didn’t intend to push Gardner into the umpire and therefore shouldn’t be suspended.
Buckley and Garry Lyon discussed the incident on SEN Breakfast.
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Lyon: “What do you think will happen?”
Buckley: “I can’t see him (Hipwood) going.”
Lyon: “What do you mean you didn’t think he knew where the umpire was?”
Buckley: “I don’t reckon he knew that he was pushing the player into the umpire.
“Hipwood’s watching the ball. I don’t think he would’ve had any awareness of where the umpire was, and I don’t think it was deliberate that he pushed him in.
“If I thought it was deliberate that he pushed him in or if we think that is the case, well then, he probably has something to answer.”
Lyon: “When it first happened on Friday night, I thought he was gone, and I was pretty strong in my condemnation. I thought it was akin to umpire contact.
“There was another angle I looked at and you could argue that the Bulldogs player might have changed course a bit.
“My point is this is, when you do that and there’s an umpire in the vicinity there are consequences. You need to be aware of them.
“He may get away with a fine, but if he got a week, it wouldn’t worry me.”
A solid collision with the umpire gives Hipwood space... pic.twitter.com/XXND1ehdmG
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 30, 2022
Buckley: “I just think that sometimes stuff happens.
“We’d like to legislate for everything, but I think there are things that happen in a game because there are 36 bodies running around, plus the three field umpires.
“I just think it’s one of those things. Worth looking at, worth clarifying, but one of those things.”
Buckley continued: “How do you say that he intended to push him into the umpire? It’s nearly impossible to do that.”