Home

Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield sent directly to AFL tribunal for brutal knock on Adelaide’s Jake Kelly

The West Australian
VideoAFL: Will Patrick Dangerfield face time on the sidelines for this fierce bump on Crow defender Jake Kelly?

Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield has been sent directly to the AFL Tribunal for his hit on Jake Kelly.

The incident was assessed as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, meaning Dangerfield cannot accept an early guilty plea and will face the tribunal tomorrow night.

Had the incident been graded ‘high impact’ instead of severe, the 30-year-old would’ve been offered a two-week ban.

MORE AFL NEWS:

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

The ugly clash occurred midway through the second term, with defender Kelly stretchered from the ground after the duo bumped heads.

The Game AFL 2024

Following the shock loss, Geelong coach Chris Scott argued Dangerfield did ‘everything he could’ to defend Kelly in the clash.

“I haven’t looked at the vision but live my take was when you’ve got two players running full speed at each other and one player kicks the ball just before contact then the player should do everything he can not to hurt the other player,” he said.

“Don’t jump off the ground, don’t raise your arms, you can’t tackle him. Sometimes players run into each other and there’s a head clash. I don’t think he intended to headbutt him that’s for sure.

“To my eye it looked like he was doing everything he could to protect himself and the other player. It’s the game we play.

“Two guys running that speed straight at each other, collisions happen.”

Mitchell Hinge of the Crows checks on Jake Kelly of the Crows as he leaves the ground after his head clash with Patrick Dangerfield.
Camera IconMitchell Hinge of the Crows checks on Jake Kelly of the Crows as he leaves the ground after his head clash with Patrick Dangerfield. Credit: Mark Brake/Getty Images

The Cats face Brisbane, Hawthorn and Melbourne in their next three matches, with Dangerfield likely to be sidelined for at least three weeks.

For context, St Kilda’s Ben Long was suspended for three weeks last year after being referred directly to the tribunal for his hit on Fremantle’s Sean Darcy.

Long’s hit received the same careless-severe-high grading as Dangerfield’s.

The suspension rubs salt into the Cats’ wounds after the unexpected 12-point loss to the Crows in their season opener.

Meanwhile, the three other incidents assessed from Saturday’s action have seen Mason Redman, Nik Cox and Joe Daniher escape with fines for their respective striking incidents.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails