Sanderson: It was a fair bump

SCOTT Thompson's Brownlow Medal chances hang in the balance after his bone-crunching bump on Geelong's Steve Johnson at the first bounce on Saturday.

Steve Johnson

THE Brownlow Medal chances of Adelaide star Scott Thompson hang in the balance after the midfielder applied a bone-crunching bump on Geelong's Steve Johnson at the first bounce on Saturday.

Thompson - one of the favourites to win the league's best-and-fairest award - faces a nervous wait for the AFL match review panel's findings on Monday after Johnson took no part in the match once diagnosed with concussion.

While the Norm Smith Medallist left the field with blood around his mouth, he wasn't subbed out of the match until the 15th minute of the opening quarter after being examined by club medicos.

Johnson was blind-sighted when Thompson used his left arm to make contact with the star Cat's face. Johnson was left dazed on the ground before being helped off the ground with the aid of trainers.

"I'll have to go back and have a look at it," Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson said when asked if Thompson risked a stint on the sidelines.

"I would be disappointed if he got rubbed out but I think he will be fine though. I think he will be fine. I just saw it like everyone else  live, I haven't looked at any of the replays yet."

Thompson's teammate Rory Sloane, who didn't start inside the centre square, said he didn't see the incident which had the Cats faithful jeering Thompson for the rest of the match.

"No I didn't get a look at it so I'm not sure what happened," Sloane said.

Thompson was Adelaide's best player in yesterday's 27-point loss at Simonds Stadium, collecting 39 disposals while also registering eight clearances.

While Sanderson hailed Thompson's performance against the Cats, he lamented his team's habit of "picking and choosing" when to go hard.

"We came here expecting to win and we didn't win - we played really poorly," Sanderson said.

"We played some good footy in patches but we just couldn't string it together for four quarters. We probably left too much to too few. We didn't have a really good team performance like we've had the majority of this season when it's been 22 contributors.

"I think Geelong had that even though they lost (Joel) Corey (hamstring) and Johnson (concussion) but we just had maybe two or three players who were outstanding and not enough from the rest."

While the Crows worked hard to whittle the Cats' lead back to just two points in the final term, they were steamrolled by the hosts who kicked five of the last six goals of the match.

"We just picked and choosed a bit too much today," Sanderson said. "There were times when we played well and there were times when we didn't play well. But against the good sides, you have to play well for four quarters."

Ruckman Sam Jacobs was a late withdrawal for the Crows with hamstring tightness and was replaced by Shaun McKernan.

Key defender Daniel Talia (corked thigh) was left sporting a heavy ice pack after the match but is expected to play Essendon next Sunday at AAMI Stadium.