Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch can expect to receive scrutiny from the Match Review Officer for a 'tunnelling' incident during Friday's loss to Geelong.

A marking contest against Cat Tom Stewart in the third term saw Fritsch collect the bottom half of his opponent while Stewart was in flight, causing the veteran defender to fall to the ground.

"That's not what you want," Fox Footy's Garry Lyon said of Fritsch's actions.

"That's really dangerous from Bayley Fritsch. That'll be looked at for sure. He is very fortunate that he didn't flip Tom Stewart up."

Stewart was not injured as a result of the marking contest.

Should it be viewed as a classifiable offence by the MRO, the incident in question would see Fritsch charged with rough conduct.

The conduct, impact and contact gradings may not be as certain as other cases however, with the MRO to weigh up Fritsch's intention in the contest.

A 'careless' conduct grading would remain the most likely, while a 'body' contact grading is assumed to be found.

The 'impact' grading is less clear. A 'low' or 'medium' grading would mean Fritsch is fined, which looms as the most likely outcome.

If Fritsch's actions were deemed to be 'intentional', a 'low' impact grading would still see him avoid a ban, however a 'medium' impact grading would result in a one-game suspension being handed down.

The MRO will hand down their findings from Friday's match between Geelong and Melbourne on Saturday evening.

1 COMMENT

  1. Deliberate โ€œtunnelballโ€โ€ฆ. not just a slight push either.

    Intentional, dangerous act.
    At least as many as huston got for his intentional, dangerous act.

    Both should be moreโ€ฆ