Match Review Officer Michael Christian has moved to clarify two different gradings for similar incidents over the weekend, telling SEN why Matt Crouch was banned and Zak Butters escaped suspension.
Crouch and Butters were both under scrutiny for incidents on Saturday. Both midfielders engaged in similar circumstances when turning their bodies while contesting a ground ball and then catching their respective opponents with a hip to the upper region.
WATCH BOTH INCIDENTS BELOW
Is Zak Butters in trouble for this bump late in the match against Bailey Banfield?
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Matt Crouch has been handed a one-match suspension following this incident with Jack Carroll.
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When Christian issued his gradings on Sunday evening, eyebrows were raised when Crouch was suspended for one week while Butters’ incident wasn’t cited.
David King was one who was dissatisfied with the outcome, posing the question: “Are we protecting the head or protecting the Brownlow?”
But Christian stands by his decision.
“The key point is whether has contested the ball or elected the bump and in this particular case I feel that Matt Crouch elected to bump and therefore the action was deemed careless,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“On face value it came out as low impact but with the potential to cause a more serious injury with the action for Crouch, there was a decision made to upgrade on the potential to cause a more serious injury.”
The MRO added that Carlton’s Jack Carroll, who copped the brunt of Crouch’s bump, started to turn while contesting the footy but not quick enough.
“If players are going to arrive simultaneously at the ball from opposite directions, they need to have their hands down and contesting the ball in a genuine manner and it didn’t feel like Matt Crouch did that. He elected to bump and didn’t get his hands down to contest the ball,” he added.
Meanwhile, Christian saw Butters’ incident “a little differently”.
He said the key difference was that the Port Adelaide vice-captain contested the footy, while Crouch did not.
“Zak Butters came in to contest the ball, he had both hands down, had his eyes on the ball and in fact touched the ball with his left hand. In our judgement, he was contesting the ball in a genuine manner,” Christian added.
“I think we’ve got to be very careful that we allow players the opportunity to contest the ball, it’s an integral part of the way the game is played and we felt Zak Butters did that.”
It’s not 100 per cent clear if the bump was high, says Christian. But since he didn’t deem it careless conduct, impact wasn’t considered.
Gerard Whateley asked Christian if Banfield been knocked out by the incident, would Butters have been suspened?
The MRO’s answer suggested not, given Butters was reasonably contesting the footy.
“I don’t want to necessarily get into hypotheticals, but if a player is generally contesting the ball, impact is not a consideration,” Christian replied.
Butters remains eligible for the Brownlow as a result of Christian’s decision, where he is among the favourites.
As it stands, Crouch will miss his side’s game against Essendon this weekend after leading Adelaide to its first win of the season against the Blues in Round 5.
The Crows have since stated they will not challenge the decision.