Geelong star Tom Stewart will miss the AFL grand final after he was substituted out of the Cats’ preliminary final victory against Hawthorn with concussion.
The Cats were trailing Hawthorn by 21 points in the first quarter of Friday night’s game at the MCG when Mabior Chol tackled Stewart in Geelong’s defensive 50.
Watch the video above: Mabior Chol at risk of ban after tackle leaves Tom Stewart concussed.
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Stewart, who was also clutching his right wrist, needed immediate treatment and was assisted to the bench before being ruled out of the game through concussion and replaced by substitute Jhye Clark.
With the Cats progressing to the decider after a 30-point win, they will be without brilliant premiership defender Stewart due to the AFL’s 12-day concussion protocols.
Serious questions are now being asked of the timing of the pre-finals bye.
The competition-wide break has been placed between the home-and-away season and first week of finals since its introduction, save for 2021 when COVID concerns prompted it to be changed to a pre-grand final bye.
“It is probably the most consequential on-field moment of the season,” 7NEWS Melbourne’s Xander McGuire said.
“This is the AFL’s nightmare scenario since they introduced the 12-day concussion protocol — arguably the best player in a team will not be able to play in the grand final after being concussed in the preliminary final.”
Tigers great Matthew Richardson was blunt.
“I don’t know anyone who thinks the pre-final bye is a good idea,” he said.
“A lot of people have suggested this (could happen) for a number of years now, and now we’ve got this situation.”
The pre-finals bye has already been on the chopping block as part of plans to introduce a wildcard round.
The top six would enjoy a week off while seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th play off for the last finals spots, before a regular finals series then unfolds.
A bye week could then take place before the grand final.
Meanwhile, Chol may have missed the decider had Hawthorn made it, and could now miss the start of next season, with the 28-year-old — having pinned both of Stewart’s arms and falling on his back — sure to face scrutiny from the match review officer.
“The MRO will certainly have a look at it,” McGuire said.
“If it is deemed a reportable offence it will be judged careless, severe impact and high contact, which will be a three-week suspension.
“So there is a genuine chance Mabior Chol will be ruled out of the grand final if the Hawks make it there.
“The two questions the MRO will ask is did Mabior Chol make Tom Stewart vulnerable to concussion, and did he use excessive force beyond what is reasonable within his duty of care.”
McGuire noted North Melbourne’s Paul Curtis was suspended for three weeks earlier this year for a similar but not identical tackle.
The Kangaroos’ attempt to have it overturned failed at the tribunal.
Richardson believes Chol did not necessarily cause the concussion.
“I’m not sure what Mabior can do there,” he said.
“That happened so quickly and with Stewart’s momentum already forward going to ground trying to get a handball off, I wouldn’t want to be the MRO trying to get through that one.”
James Brayshaw added: “I thought Curtis’s was a really poor decision and it will be a poor decision if Mabior misses.”
AFL umpiring veteran Ray Chamberlain said Chol’s tackle was legal.
“There’s no rotation, he doesn’t place Stewart’s head in a vulnerable position ... I don’t think there’s any case to answer here for Chol,” he said on the ABC.
“I just think it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances that’s led (to) his head hitting the ground.
“I don’t see that Chol will have a case to answer here.”
Asked to compare the tackle to Curtis’s ban, he also echoed Richardson’s point in that Stewart was already falling forward.
“Different tackle, different level of force — so we talk about excessive force and driving the player forward,” Chamberlain said.
“In this instance, Tom Stewart is going forward and to ground by his own volition in the initial tackle.”
Stewart’s concussion forced fellow defender Jack Henry, who was on the bench after being treated for an ankle injury, to return to the fray to cover for Stewart.
Henry was injured earlier in the first quarter when teammate Connor O’Sullivan landed on his left ankle.
He was assisted from the field by two trainers, without putting any weight on the questionable ankle, then had to go to the rooms for treatment.
Henry returned to play with the ankle heavily strapped and looking noticeably proppy, when Stewart left the field.
- with AAP
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