Ugly incident at Gabba, as Giants’ Jeremy Cameron knocks out Lions’ Harris Andrews
Brisbane Lions defender Harris Andrews has been knocked out, but returned to sit on the bench within an hour of copping an elbow to the head from GWS forward Jeremy Cameron in an ugly incident at the Gabba on Saturday.
Andrews, one of the AFL's best young defenders, was out before he hit the ground after 11 minutes of the first quarter.
The ball had gone into the forward line, and Cameron and Andrews had both flown for it.
Cameron did not get there for the mark, and he turned his body to one side — but his forearm appeared to be raised and his elbow made solid contact with the Lions player.
Andrews hit the ground hard and did not move with his arm pointed up in an unnatural position.
He was taken off on a stretcher minutes later and did not return to the game.
Given the AFL's focus on protecting the heads of players, Cameron is almost guaranteed to earn several weeks' suspension for his part in the incident.
The AFL's match review committee will look at whether the action by Cameron was careless or intentional, and whether the contact was high or severe.
If both are ruled at the more serious end of things, Cameron is likely to be referred straight to the judiciary, where he will not have the option of an early guilty plea.
The Brisbane crowd was furious after the incident — every time Cameron got the ball afterwards, he was the focus of intense booing from the stands.
The AFL later tweeted that Andrews had received stitches, but was walking around in the rooms, and was not expected to go to hospital.
He returned to the bench late in the second quarter, but took no further part in the game.
External Link: Mitch Robinson tweet: Geez, I wish I was out there
When the big screen at the Gabba showed Andrews sitting on the bench, there was a big round of applause from Brisbane fans.
"He's not too bad, he's awake. He's been sitting on the bench in that quarter," Brisbane football general manager David Noble told Fox Footy.
"He'll do the concussion test —he's a bit sore in the chest where he landed. We'll see how it goes."
The Lions fans were not the only ones unhappy with the incident, as Andrews' current and former Brisbane teammates, Mitch Robinson and Tom Rockliff respectively, posted their frustration on social media.
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