Geelong star Tom Stewart’s high shot on Nathan Kreuger divides opinion

Another high shot is in the AFL spotlight, with opinion fiercely divided on Tom Stewart’s bump on Collingwood’s Nathan Kreuger.

Geelong star Tom Stewart made contact with the head of Collingwood’s Nathan Kreuger in the Cats’ 20-point win on Friday night in an incident that quickly divided opinion.

Footy fans have known for years now the head is sacrosanct and any high contact is likely to face fierce scrutiny from the Match Review Officer.

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It can still be a grey area, however, particularly if a player embellishes the contact and there was a suggestion from at least one champion the Magpie may have done just that in the 13.13 (91) to 10.11 (71) win from the resurgent Cats.

The incident occurred in the dying seconds of the third quarter, with Kreuger fumbling a loose ball on the wing at the MCG.

As Kreuger attempted to slam on the brakes, veteran Stewart ran straight towards the ball himself and collected the Pie’s head on the way through.

Channel 7 sideline reporter and former AFLW player Abbey Holmes said 25-year-old Kreuger had a head injury assessment and added she felt Stewart could be in trouble.

Tom Stewart's bump on Nathan Kreuger.

Kreuger's reaction directly after the high shot.

“It was to do with Tom Stewart and Nathan Kreuger,” she said during the final break.

“You can see there Nathan Kreuger just with his head over the ball and unfortunately, it does look as though Tom Stewart drops the shoulder and collects Kreuger on the way through.

“Now Nathan did spend some time with staff during the three-quarter time break, they did a quick HIA and there didn’t seem to be any lingering concerns there although Reef McInnes was doing a pretty significant warm up.”

Yet fellow commentator Luke Hodge had a very different view, suggesting Kreuger made the most of the contact.

“I’d say he fumbled the ball and made sure the umpire saw the contact because I didn’t think there was much more in that,” Hodge said.

“It looked like a little bit of acting straight after the contact was made.”

Acting for free kicks has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with Demons defender Steve May fined for staging.

Kreuger speaking to medical staff at the break.

Kreuger was able to play out the match.

There was a mixed response to the moment on social media, with Fox Footy asking fans if they thought Stewart could be in trouble.

Among the comments was a reference to Isaac Heeney’s suspension for his accidental high shot on St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster.

“No, what a ridiculous question,” was one comment on X.

“Unintentional and connects with the head, has to be one week if the last week has taught us anything,” was another.

“Why do players throw their face into the ground like this … it turns an actual free kick into an Academy award,” wrote a third.

“Not allowed to run straight at the ball anymore. Sad,” offered another.

Whether it merits a suspension, it will certainly be reviewed by the MRO, with the finding likely to be handed down by the AFL on Saturday.

Originally published as Geelong star Tom Stewart’s high shot on Nathan Kreuger divides opinion