Adelaide Crows ready to back Scott Thompson over hit

ADELAIDE is poised to argue Scott Thompson was pushed into making contact with Geelong veteran Steve Johnson should he be cited for the hit.

ADELAIDE is poised to argue Scott Thompson was pushed into making contact with Geelong veteran Steve Johnson should the Crows' Brownlow Medal favourite be cited by the AFL's match review panel today.

Thompson - clearly his side's best player in Adelaide's 27-point loss at Simonds Stadium on Saturday - will have his heavy hit on Johnson reviewed at AFL house this morning.

While Thompson's bump at the opening bounce left Johnson with a bloody mouth and concussion, the Crows could highlight the fact Cats midfielder Joel Corey put Thompson off balance, pushing him into the Norm Smith Medallist.

"I'll have to go back and have a look at it - I noticed he (Thompson) was pushed into it," Crows coach Brenton Sanderson said.

Only one of the MRP's criteria with Thompson is certain in that the contact made was high. This, along with Geelong's medical report on Johnson - which will state he was concussed and unable to continue playing - isn't likely to bode well for the Crows' star midfielder.

But in Thompson's favour is his absence of carry-over points, courtesy of a clean record in the past five seasons as well as Johnson's positivity.

"I'm all good," Johnson tweeted. "Was a bit dazed for a while and copped a fat lip but will be fresh for next week!!"

Collingwood premiership coach Mick Malthouse and Cats premiership captain Tom Harley, both agreed there was "nothing in that".

Former Western Bulldogs ruckman Luke Darcy said Thompson making contact with Johnson was unavoidable, adding: "It would be a disaster if the Brownlow favourite was suspended on the back of that incident."

If Thompson draws more than 100 demerit points from the match review panel, he will be ruled ineligible for this year's most prestigious individual award.

The Crows' ball magnet started the match as an outright $5.50 favourite for the Brownlow with TAB Sportsbet, based on Essendon's Jobe Watson being unlikely to poll any votes in the Bombers' 94-point loss to Hawthorn on Friday night.

Faced with the prospect of not having Thompson for Sunday's twilight clash against Essendon at AAMI Stadium, Sanderson will also be sweating on the availability of ruckman Sam Jacobs (hamstring tightness) and key forward Kurt Tippett (concussion).

"We'll just take it day-by-day with Kurt," Sanderson said.

"We'll have to rely on the medical clearance first. Once we get the medical clearance, we'll sit down with Kurt and put a timeframe together and see when he will be back. Hopefully it's next week (against Essendon) but we're certainly not going to rush him back."

Jacobs - who up until Saturday played every game this season - is expected to be fit to face the Bombers, ensuring the Crows can bolster their big man department after Shaun McKernan and Josh Jenkins were forced to carry the ruck load against the Cats.

"It will be a good test for us," Sanderson said.

"McKernan and Jenkins were good for us but they have just got to keep improving and look for ways to fight through when we are missing Jacobs and Tippett.

"You wouldn't expect him (Jacobs) to miss next week but we didn't want to take a risk with him."

Daniel Talia, who limped off in the fourth term, should recover from a corked thigh.