As his side enters a crucial stage of the season, star Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps will face Match Review Officer scrutiny after a collision with Cal Ah Chee led to the Brisbane defender being subbed out of Sunday’s game.
Cripps copped jeers from Lions fans at The Gabba after making contact with Ah Chee during the second quarter of the Blues’ clash with Brisbane at The Gabba.
Ah Chee leapt into the air and got hands on the ball before Cripps also jumps off the ground and makes contact from behind. Ace Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph pointed out on Fox Footy, Cripps braced rather than reached for the ball yet it wasn’t a marking contest, nor did it appear Cripps was contesting the ball.
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Ah Chee was helped from the ground before being subbed out under concussion protocols and replaced by Mitch Robinson.
Speaking on Fox Footy, Ralph said Cripps’ incident could be assessed by the MRO as medium or even high impact, which would lead to a suspension of multiple weeks.
While Cripps’ accidental landing may have contributed to Ah Chee’s injury, Ralph said precedent indicated that it wouldn’t necessarily help Cripps’ case. Ralph pointed to the ban Magpie Brayden Maynard copped in March, despite a secondary action playing a role in Giant Daniel Lloyd’s injury.
“He’s much more likely to be suspended than not. The AFL’s bottom line is if you choose to bump, you’re responsible for the fallout,” Ralph told Fox Footy.
“This is a textbook case. He jumps off the ground, it’s not a marking contest, he doesn’t really contest the ball, he braces rather than reaches for the ball.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of middle ground. It’s either a football incident and an accident and he gets off, or it’s got the potential to be high impact given the concussion and he could miss two weeks
“It’s probably going to go to court, it’s certainly going to be scrutinized very heavily by Michael Christian. I think he’s in trouble.”
Carlton needs to win at least one more match to secure a 2022 finals berth. But should the Blues lose to the Lions on Sunday then be without their skipper for clashes against Melbourne and Collingwood, their task will be more difficult.
Cripps is also fifth favorite to take out this year’s Brownlow Medal.
“We’re watching in slow motion unfortunately and there’s not a lot of time to think,” triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown told Fox Footy. “When ‘Crippa’ decided to take off and contest that ball, he wasn’t quite sure of the timing of it all.
“I think he should get off, I think it’s a football incident. But Jonny Ralph knows the precedent better than anyone.”
Triple All-Australian Eddie Betts added: “It’s a tough one to judge, because he turns his body right at the end. But Callum Ah Chee is convicted and gone off.”
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