A number of Geelong players were left fearing what would unfold during Friday night's celebrations at the SCG.
With Lance Franklin booting his 1000th career goal in the final term of the Swans' win, the majority of the 36,578 crowd stormed the turf as players and officials eventually evacuated the field.
Zach Tuohy's well-documented incident involving an eager fan was one of many sub-stories from the milestone major and subsequent scenes, however reports have begun to emerge of more worrisome tales.
Cats players including Jeremy Cameron, Tom Atkins and Jack Henry were understood to be caught up in the thousands of fans, sparking some concern for the safety of players.
Speaking on The Sunday Footy Show,ย panellist Damian Barrett revealed several Geelong players were fearful of what could have taken place during the pitch invasion.
โIโve now spoken to several people from both clubs, there was genuine fear coming from some of the people involved,โ Barrett said.
โA Geelong player (said), โIt was genuinely extraordinary and dangerous. We had so many players deliberately run into, it wasnโt funny. Great for Bud, but Christ it was dangerousโ, thatโs the sentiment reflecting a lot of situations coming from the Cats.
โWhat I can tell you is that Jeremy Cameron was smashed in the fracas and the hoards of people that ran out onto the ground.
"There was genuine fear there with some of the people involved."@barrettdamian reports on the chaos at the SCG after Lance Franklin's 1000th goal. #9AFLSFS - Watch on @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/GWY5pxySJX
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) March 26, 2022
โBoth Jack Henry and Tom Atkins had moments where they were genuinely fearful about what was going to happen.
โThere were at least six Geelong players who were very worried about what was going to happen with people running on."
Barrett revealed that the AFL had "plans in place" for the event of Buddy's 1000th goal, with 38 security guards - nine of which assigned to Franklin - and 12 police officers on standby at the ground.
While no known reports have surfaced of dangerous activity, the safety measures in place did little to prevent any potential harm to those already on the field.
AFL coaching great Mick Malthouse was among those to express their concerns of the events that took place at the SCG, stating "you only need someone whoโs an idiot who takes a knife".
"I think (it) was just a demonstration of something that was not organised correctly," Malthouse toldย ABC Radio.ย
โWe all knew it was going to happen at some stage. Youโve got to be ready for it and the simple fact supporters were able to get to him before any sort of people guarding him or looking after his space, I thought was quite pathetic.
โThereโs always going to be idiots. You only need someone whoโs an idiot who takes a knife."
Both Swans CEO Tom Harley and Geelong's football boss Simon Lloyd have released statements following Friday night's match.