Essendon will be keeping their fingers crossed that captain Zach Merrett is cleared for his collision with Swans gun Nick Blakey late in their side’s eight-point win on Saturday evening.
With seven and a half minutes left in the match and 15 points separating the two sides, both Merrett and Blakey ran towards loose ball mid-air inside the Bombers’ forward 50. As the Swans defender tried to collect the ball, his Dons opponent opted to spoil the ball — making contact with the ball before clipping Blakey high.
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Contact with Blakey’s head left him lying on the Marvel Stadium turf dazed for a couple of seconds, before slowly getting up to take his kick.
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While the Swan looked to play on after the knock, he was soon taken to the sidelines for a Head Impact Assessment (HIA) test; effectively ruling him out of the remainder of the match as he underwent assessments.
In his post-match press conference, Sydney coach Dean Cox was “not sure” as to whether Blakey passed his HIA test.
Speaking to Fox Footy immediately after the final siren, the 237-game Bomber commented briefly on the incident.
“I thought I tapped all ball – I was about to kick the goal. I haven’t seen it, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Merrett said.
Fox Footy’s Super Saturday Live panel broke the incident down further post-game, with a general consensus that the head-high hit shouldn’t bring about any serious scrutiny from Match Review Officer (MRO) Michael Christian.
“I think he’ll be fine, I think it was a genuine attempt on the ball,” Fox Footy reporter Jay Clark said.
“I think it was very different to the Lewis Melican on Toby Bedford that we saw last week. Melican got three matches for that heavy strike (but) Zach Merrett, he’s looking at the ball. It’s a bit of a glancing blow to Nick Blakey.
“I think his head hits the pillow tonight really comfortably. The ball is right there, it’s an accidental clip of the head.
“Eyes on the ball, that’s the big cue for the MRO. I think he’ll be okay.”
Three-time premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt added: “That’s a footy play … I think he’s trying to tap the ball, and you can see clearly that his eyes are looking a the football. It’s just an unfortunate accident.
“You can see Blakey in the rooms, he looks like he’s okay after undergoing the HIA assessment.”
Merrett again led from the front for his side, albeit with a slightly less-full stat line, kicking two crucial goals from 19 disposals and six inside 50s.
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