Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield has gone unpunished for his accidental high shot that knocked out Richmond’s Nick Vlastuin in Saturday’s AFL grand final.
Dangerfield collected the Tigers backman high with what appeared to be a stray elbow after he punched the ball clear at the Gabba, ending Vlastuin’s night before Richmond prevailed by 31 points.
It made for ugly scenes as Vlastuin lay motionless and was slowly taken from the field on a stretcher but, after assessing the incident on Sunday, match review officer Michael Christian deemed Dangerfield’s actions “were not unreasonable in the circumstances”.
Dangerfield was confident he had no case to answer and insisted the incident didn’t weigh on his mind for the rest of the game.
“I didn’t think there was much in it,” Dangerfield told reporters shortly after the final siren.
“I was trying to tap the ball away, there were three Richmond players coming towards me.
“Had it been something there would have been repercussions on the field and for everyone it is just play on, it is a contact sport.”
Victorious coach Damien Hardwick was willing to offer Dangerfield a lifeline when quizzed after the game.
“The hard thing about it from Paddy’s point of view is his arm is up high anyway and there’s a guy coming at him,” Hardwick said.
“Smarter men than me will make those decisions.”
© AAP
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