Tom Stewart called out for 'classless' act in crucial Geelong win

Geelong defender Tom Stewart has come under substantial AFL criticism after shoving Melbourne's Jack Viney to the ground moments after the Demons midfielder had seemingly injured his shoulder. Though Viney was able to play out the game, with his shoulder frequently having troubled him in recent weeks, AFL observers were nonetheless unimpressed by Stewart's act.

Viney had emerged from a first quarter contest for the ball clutching at his right shoulder, only to be met by Stewart, who took the opportunity to shove him to the ground. It was an action that could well attract the scrutiny of the Match Review Officer, with a fine the most likely outcome if cited for contact with an injured player.

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After being attended to by trainers, Viney was able to play out the rest of the game, a 15-point loss to the Cats. Stewart, in the meantime, was called out by a number of AFL commentators.

“The push from Tom Stewart when clearly injured afterwards wasn’t called for," AFL reporter Jon Ralph told Fox Footy. “At worst Stewart will receive a $1500 misconduct fine for what the AFL calls unnecessary and unreasonable contact to Viney. Clearly he pushed him to ground.”

Co-host Sarah Jones said it was 'not a good look', while Jason Dunstall said it was an unnecessary move from Stewart, and one which lowered his colours on an otherwise strong night for the Cats. Their win squared their record at 7-7, crucially keeping them in touch with the tightly contested finals race.

“He did have a look at him as he’s down holding his shoulder, so he knows what he’s doing, which I think is a little bit disappointing," Dunstall observed. “He’s such a good player Tom, but every now and then he does these silly little things that he probably doesn’t need to do.”

Meanwhile, fans were also getting stuck into Stewart on social media. The incident came after teammate Gary Rohan had left fellow Geelong star Jeremy Cameron requiring a stretcher to be taken from the field after a brutal accidental clash earlier in the first quarter.

Geelong outclass Melbourne in fast-paced final quarter

Geelong were out-muscled at stoppages, losing the clearance battle 47-35 as Demons midfielders Christian Petracca (33 disposals, 10 clearances) and Jack Viney (25, six) starred. But Mitch Duncan (22 disposals, one goal), Tanner Bruhn (19, two), Mark Blicavs (19, one), Tom Atkins (19 touches), Brad Close (24) and Tom Stewart (22) all had an impact, and Geelong ran away with the game late.

Stewart, Zach Guthrie and Jake Kolodjashnij impressed in defence. The fallout could yet get worse for Melbourne (9-5), with leading goalkicker Bayley Fritsch to come under scrutiny for a dangerous tackle on Kolodjashnij.

A free kick was paid to Kolodjashnij, who was not seriously hurt in the final-quarter incident.

Joel Smith, Kysaiah Pickett and Fritsch finished with two goals each for Melbourne, who led by seven points at three-quarter time but were blown away in a 20-minute Cats blitz at the start of the final term.

With AAP

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