‘Ridiculous’: AFL legend Nick Riewoldt ‘staggered by ‘dirty’ act

AFL legend Nick Riewoldt and Lions star Dayne Zorko have declared the AFL dropped the ball in letting a player get away with murder.

Dayne Zorko says Hugh Jackson “got away with one” after the Port Adelaide young gun escaped without a suspension over a kneeing incident during the Lions win over the Power.

AFL legend Nick Riewoldt on Monday led the criticism of the Match Review Officer’s verdict that the cheap shot was only worth only a $2000 fine.

The St Kilda icon called Jackson’s act “dirty” after cameras captured the 22-year-old sticking his knee into Zorko as the former Brisbane captain was lying on the ground.

The MRO judged the third quarter incident was “low impact” to Zorko’s ribs, despite the strike looking ugly to the naked eye.

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Riewoldt said on Channel 7’s Agenda Setters it was “ridiculous” that Jackson was not suspended.

“Hugh Jackson got a ‘B’ on this segment last week. This week it’s an ‘F’,” Riewoldt said on his weekly segment.

You can watch the incident in the video player above.

Hugh Jackson got away with it. Photo: X and Fox Footy.

“Look at the knee here into the ribs of Zorko. It’s an ‘F’. It was dirty and cleared by the MRO.”

He said the AFL was sending a message to players that knee kicks like that were not going to be judged harshly.

“Get this, players, you can drop the knee into a player when they are on the ground,” he said.

“Go your hardest because you won’t get suspended. You’ll only cop a fine. Ridiculous.”

Zorko on Tuesday addressed the incident during a regular segment on SEN Queensland.

The Lions veteran appeared to be in pain after the knee, but got back to his feet to kick the ball after a free kick had been given.

“Well, he definitely got me. I think it was more the surprise that when someone is on the ground curled over like that after being hit in the head, and you’ve just sunk the slipper in,” Zorko joked on SENQ Breakfast.

“I think that was more the surprise to me. But that’s alright, I handled it well.

“You just try to unsettle them. He knows he did something wrong, it was more importantly trying to get in his head and make sure he knew it.

Brisbane's Dayne Zorko is kneed by Power's Hugh Jackson

“I was trying to throw him off his game a little bit. I might have looked like I was carrying on, but inside I was actually quite calm.

“I just wanted to off-settle him because he’s quite a handy little player the young fella.

“He got away with it, I think he only copped a fine so he’ll be right to play again this week. I did say you’ll be spending some time on the sidelines but the MRO has let me down and only given him a fine, so he’s probably laughing at me.”

Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton said on Fox Footy at the time, there was going to be a gentlemen’s agreement that there would be a “square up” at some point in the game.

Zorko walked off the ground all smiles after the Lions wrapped up a 28-point win at the Gabba on the back of an eight-goal first quarter blitz.

The win further cemented their bid for a top-two spot and made Port’s task of playing finals football this season all the more difficult.