‘Strange’: AFL announces verdict into bump storm nobody seems to understand

Carlton has announced it is challenging a suspension offered to a star defender after an AFL ruling that showed nobody knows what’s going on.

Nick Larkey of the Kangaroos and Lewis Young of the Blues. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Carlton is challenging a one-week suspension offered to Lewis Young over his contentious bump during the Blues’ win over North Melbourne on Saturday.

Demons legend Garry Lyon on Monday morning branded the AFL match review officer’s decision to charge Young “strange”.

The charge of “careless contact to the body but of high force” has further blurred the issue surrounding whether the bump has indeed been outlawed.

The Blues quickly announced on Monday the club would be challenging the suspension.

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Young’s hit on Cameron Zurhaar was a rib-cage rattling front-on hit that briefly forced Zurhaar to come from the ground after the force of the contact knocked him on his backside.

“The bump is essentially gone,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.

Lewis Young of the Blues and Hugh Greenwood of the Kangaroos wrestle. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“I’m a subscriber to say that the bump’s not (gone), but if we’re penalising blokes for bumping too hard... it’s strange.”

Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley called Young’s act a “solid bump”.

“I hope Carlton challenge the Young one in particular,” Buckley said.

“I hope they challenge the Young one because I don’t know how you can say that that contact was high.

“It hit him, and it was a solid bump, and I don’t know what his (Young’s) other options were other than not contest – and not contesting is not an option.”

The divisive act triggered a flood of commentary about the bump’s position in the sport.

Not sure about the bump is dead stuff over Young v Zurhaar. One player going for the ball and the other bumps him head on after ignoring it. That’s not the bump we want to see. It’s probably medium impact so gets downgraded at the tribunal but only one player going for the pill pic.twitter.com/frjuTcmw44

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) May 2, 2022

It used to be bump at your peril in case you made contact to the head. After Lewis Young’s citing, it’s now bump at your peril in case you hurt someone.

— Andrew Wu (@wutube) May 1, 2022

Am I crazy or was Lewis Young’s bump just a perfectly executed bump? Didn’t catch the head at all. No suggestion of any high contact. No serious injury to Zurhaar who played out the game. Are bumps outlawed per se? Is the body “sacrosanct” now?

— Martin Pakula (@MartinPakulaMP) May 1, 2022

North Melbourne has their own suspension issues to worry about after Young took a scary fall as a result of an apparent deliberate act of tunnelling by Nick Larkey.

Nick Larkey of the Kangaroos and Lewis Young of the Blues clash. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

While attempting to mark the ball at full stretch Young hit the Marvel Stadium turf hard almost at a horizontal angle.

Larkey’s tunnelling act ultimately sparked a heated melee where he emerged with his jumper torn apart.

“It’s reaching boiling point very quickly,” Fox Footy commentator Anthony Hudson said.

“These are scenes we don’t often see these days.”

“It’s just fallen apart here for the Kangaroos. They’ve lost the plot,” Healy told Fox Footy.

Larkey has been offered a one-match ban for the ugly incident.

Originally published as ‘Strange’: AFL announces verdict into bump storm nobody seems to understand