Gary Ablett could face scrutiny for another high hit

Nat Fyfe could be ruled ineligible for the Brownlow medal for the second straight season but Geelong coach Chris Scott says Gary Ablett doesn’t have a case to answer after another controversial elbow. WATCH AND DECIDE

Gary Ablett is likely to come under scrutiny for this hit on Sam Wright. Picture: Fox Footy

Geelong coach Chris Scott is confident Gary Ablett won’t have a match review case to answer this week, but conceded there might have to be changes to his game after a second incident in the spotlight.

Ablett could face scrutiny for the second week in a row after an incident in the second quarter against North Melbourne’s Sam Wright in Sunday’s 24-point win over the Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium.

And Fremantle skipper Nat Fyfe is also in for a nervous wait after collecting Richmond forward Tom Lynch with an elbow to the face in Perth.

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The match review officer will assess Fyfe’s raised arm today, which came after Lynch had lost possession of the ball. Fyfe may have dodged a significant suspension, with replays indicating the point of his elbow missed Lynch’s head and contact was instead made with his forearm.

“I honestly didn’t see it. There was so much going on in the box,” Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

Will Nat Fyfe be in trouble for this elbow on Tom Lynch?#AFLFreoTigers pic.twitter.com/6kd5x4nEaV

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After having his one-match ban for striking Essendon’s Dylan Shiel downgraded to a fine at the tribunal last week, Ablett was in the spotlight again after he awkwardly collected Wright high with his forearm off the ball and had a free kick awarded against him.

But Scott did not believe Ablett would be in trouble for the incident.

“I didn’t think it looked (similar) at all. But my opinion is not worth that much,” Scott said.

“Have a look at the chart, back your opinion around what constitutes a reportable offence and significant contact and then go from there.

“But I would be surprised, unless you are really keen on making a bigger issue of it than it is that you would come to the conclusion that he would have anything to worry about.”

Gary Ablett is likely to come under scrutiny for this hit on Sam Wright. Picture: Fox Footy

But Scott suggested that Ablett — and all players — needed to make changes when “blocking the runner” after he was asked if the two-time Brownlow medallist needed to alter his technique to avoid more trouble.

“I wasn’t going to say that, but now you bring it up, I think you are probably right,” Scott said.

“Across the competition for a long period of time, most clubs have coached making sure you block the runner so that he doesn’t get the overlap handball and most teams would coach players to block the runner like that. That’s good technique as long as you get them in the chest.

“As soon as it pops up a little bit and there is any contact to the head then you are in dangerous territory. So maybe we all need to rethink the technique when it comes to blocking the runner because it is clear that the MRO have decided that anything like a raised forearm usually results in an intentional classification.”

North Melbourne defender Robbie Tarrant remonstrates with Gary Ablett after the incident. Picture: Getty Images

The Cats were again without Joel Selwood after a selection shuffle before the match that saw the captain named as a late inclusion for Sam Menegola (knee) only to be pulled out and replaced by Charlie Constable shortly afterwards.

Scott said the Cats had informed North Melbourne straight away after making the late change, but was not prepared to take any risks with his skipper.

He said it was an upper leg issue that kept Selwood out last week and a lower leg problem that emerged during the week.

“We didn’t think that Joel would come up and then it looked like he would and then he didn’t,’’ Scott said.

“If your captain who is really important to you … doesn’t feel quite right, there is no way that I am going to allow anyone to talk him into it, I’m certainly not going to do it myself.

“We are confident that he will be right (next week). We are going to prioritise training with him … we are not in the business of hoping with injury.”

The Cats lost Gary Rohan in the third quarter after he was felled from a heavy bump from North Melbourne’s Sam Durdin in the third quarter and was unable to return.

Scott said he was unsure how quickly Rohan would recover.

“I suspect we won’t know until late in the week so there is no point putting any extra energy into thinking about it,’’ Scott said.

Geelong also had injury concerns during the game with Tom Atkins (hip) and Tom Stewart, who was assessed for concussion after a heavy hit, but were able to return.

Originally published as Gary Ablett could face scrutiny for another high hit