Fremantle captain Alex Pearce to come under scrutiny for big bump that concussed Darcy Byrne-Jones
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce is set to come under scrutiny for a heavy bump during the Dockers’ win over Port Adelaide on Saturday night.
Pearce collected Darcy Byrne-Jones will a huge bump that saw the Power forward eventually subbed out with concussion.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Pearce to face scrutiny for high shot.
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Byrne-Jones was going with the flight to attempt to mark a floating kick inside 50 when Pearce came charging in from the opposite direction.
The Docker was late to the contest and his shoulder made contact with Byrne-Jones’ head. He spent a minute getting to his feet before being helped from the field with the assistance of medical staff.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir was shown on the broadcast putting both of his hands on his face in the coaches’ box when the hit occurred, while players from both sides remonstrated.
The incident happened with just under two minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Byrne-Jones was subbed out during the half-time break with the club confirming it was a concussion.
Replays showed Pearce had eyes on the ball until the last moment when contact was made.
Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson said it was “pretty tough on Pearce”.
“Like I said earlier, you’ve got your eyes on the ball until you don’t,” Simpson said on Fox Footy.
“For Pearce, when someone is running at you back with the flight and you want to mark the ball and you go ‘oh I can’t get this ball without knocking this guy’, you instinctively take your eyes off it and then it’s up to the lap of the gods as to what happens.”
The match review officer’s findings will be released on Sunday.
Pearce hasn’t missed a game this year and will leave a massive whole in Fremantle’s defence.
The Dockers take on the Suns next week before they have the bye. They then face North Melbourne and Essendon.
In difficult conditions with constant rain throughout, Fremantle were far too good for Port Adelaide, running out convincing 49-point winners.
More to come …
