Lachie Schultz, a Collingwood recruit, received a mild penalty from the AFL, which has angered the match review officer.
In the last quarter of the Magpies’ match against Carlton, Schultz suffered a brain fog and “rabbit-punched” Blues player Blake Acres in the back of the head.
After Acres shoved Schultz in the chest, there was a pause close to Collingwood’s forward line where the incident took place.
However, Schultz’s response was unexplainable as he charged Acres, striking him on the back of the head just a few meters from the umpire watching.
The event was rated as intentional behavior with low impact and high contact by the match review officer, who also issued a one-match penalty for Schultz.
However, seasoned AFL pundit Dwayne Russell has criticized that penalty.
“How come you just get a week to complete that? That’s not how we play. Russell stated on SEN that “one week is garbage.”
And Russell’s SEN colleague and Aussie basketball icon Andrew Gaze also believed the one-match sanction was a nonsense.
“To me I thought it was a horrific look and to me one week is not enough for the act,” Gaze said.
“I’m sure there was some provocation and he might be a ripping fella … but the act itself to me is one of the worst ones you can have …
“Someone is running away and you come from behind and you’re hitting them in the back of the head.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed he had spoken to Schultz about the incident.
“Yeah, I’m not going to condone the behaviour. I’m not here to do that,” McRae told Gaze.
“I had a good chat to Lachie today (Tuesday) about it. He’s really remorseful. He’s a great young kid and he’s really harsh on himself.
“I said to him, ‘This game is hard enough, don’t give yourself black eyes’ … but he’s very remorseful.
“We’ll accept the one week and there’s two ways you can look at this – what can you do about the past, not much, well, this is an opportunity to freshen up and be better for it.
“And learn the critical moments in the game, frustration is one thing, but to take it out on the opposition like that and (give away) the free kick … it’s not something we want.
“The young lad is going to learn a lesson, isn’t he?”
Gaze insisted that the one-match ban was not enough of a punishment for the “really poor act”, even though he admitted under the current rules that the AFL had got it right.
Immediately after the incident veteran sports reporter Jon Ralph described the act as an “old-fashioned rabbit punch”.
The ban comes as the Magpies face an injury crisis.
Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell both missed the Carlton game due to injury and forward Beau McCreery was subbed out of the game with concussion after copping a knee to the jaw in the second quarter.
McCreery will also miss the Eagles game this week due to the AFL’s concussion protocols, while De Goey has been unable to train since the Magpies’ draw with Essendon on Anzac Day because of groin soreness.
There are some suggestions De Goey is battling osteitis pubis, while Mitchell — who has had ongoing foot issue — was hospitalised with a bad case of appendicitis and will also be sidelined for this week.
Collingwood also confirmed on Tuesday that Brody Mihocek would miss 2-3 weeks after scans revealed a grade 1 strain to his hamstring.