Stewart escapes strife for “reckless” act

Tom Stewart has escaped a ban for what has been described as a “reckless” action in Geelong’s 88-point win over Port Adelaide on Sunday.

The Cats defender jumped off the ground when attempting to smother a Wines handball in the centre of GMHBA Stadium during the second quarter.

He collected Wines high and immediately showed remorse. The Power midfielder was not concussed and did return to play but appeared sore.

See the incident below:

While it wasn’t an overly venomous hit, Stewart does need to show a duty of care, especially since the Brayden Maynard-Angus Brayshaw incident forced the rules to be changed.

The AFL released this statement regarding the incident:

"During the Cats' 88-point win at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday, Stewart jumped off the ground in an attempt to smother a Wines handpass and landed on his opponent.

"The act did not appear malicious and Stewart immediately showed concern for Wines, who was clearly sore but able to play out the game and was one of the Power's best contributors.

"Stewart has been cited by the Match Review Officer for rough conduct, but the grading of careless conduct and low impact means he has escaped with a fine."

Tom Stewart has instead been offered a $2000 fine.

AFL Media’s Josh Gabelich discussed the incident with SEN’s David King and Kane Cornes who had differing views.

“Both coaches (Chris Scott and Ken Hinkley) were dismissive in the post-game, they don’t think there’s any real concern,” Gabelich said on SEN’s Fireball.

“But there was a hint of Brayden Maynard about it with Brayshaw going back a couple of years.

“Ollie Wines came back on the ground and played out the game.

“Kingy, does he have a case?”

King does believe it was a reckless action and as a result the five-time All-Australian could find himself in trouble.

“I think he’s in a bit of strife,” he said.

“There’s a level of recklessness about it. Isn’t this what we’re hot on at the moment?

“I don’t necessarily love it, I think it’s a footy act, but I think there’s a reckless side to it.”

But Cornes does not believe it warrants a sanction: “I’d be disappointed if he faced a suspension for that.

“That’s where I sit on it.”

After the match Cats coach Chris Scott was feeling positive that Stewart would not be rubbed out.

“You're not like a magic bullet where you can change your trajectory in the air but you do have to mitigate the damage to the other player if you can,” Scott said.

“I thought he just fell on top of him, so yeah, I'm very confident that he'd be OK.”

MRO Michael Christian will hand down his findings later on Monday.