Rory Sloane has been cleared for his collision with Patrick Dangerfield in Friday night’s Preliminary Final.
The AFL Match Review Panel deemed Sloane had no case to answer from the incident and is free to play in the Toyota AFL Grand Final on Saturday.
Sloane and Dangerfield clashed heavily while competed for the ball during the second term at Adelaide Oval.
Dangerfield was assessed by Geelong medical staff after the incident, but returned to the field to play out the game.
There were no other reports to emerge from Adelaide’s win over the Cats.
Richmond’s Trent Cotchin is also free to play in the decider after his contest with Greater Western Sydney's Dylan Shiel in the opening term of Saturday's twilight Preliminary Final at the MCG.
The MRP deemed Cotchin’s direction was in line of the ball and contact was not unreasonable given the circumstances.
An incident involving fellow Tiger Brandon Ellis was also looked at from the final quarter of the same game.
Ellis made high contact with Lachie Whitfield but but no further action was taken by the MRP.
FULL AFL MATCH REVIEW PANEL STATEMENT
The AFL wishes to advise the Match Review Panel has reviewed the matches played in the Preliminary Finals of the 2017 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. No charges were laid, while the following incidents were detailed for further explanation:
Other incidents assessed
Contact between the Adelaide Crows’ Rory Sloane and the Geelong Cats’ Patrick Dangerfield from the second quarter of Friday’s match was assessed. The ball comes loose after a marking contest. Dangerfield takes possession and as he turns towards goal, he is confronted by Sloane. Sloane is near stationary and he initially puts his hand up in the air, in a bid to block the handpass. Sloane then braces for contact and does not use a bumping action when contact is made. It was the view of the panel the contact was not unreasonable in the circumstances and no further action was taken.
Contact between Richmond’s Trent Cotchin and the GWS Giants’ Dylan Shiel from the first quarter of Saturday’s match was assessed. The ball is loose between Cotchin and Shiel. Both players are seeking to win possession and are coming towards each other from right angles. Cotchin moves down low and braces for contact as Shiel approaches to pick up the ball. It was the view of the panel that Cotchin was seeking to win possession as his line of direction was always towards the ball and not his opponent. The panel determined that Cotchin was seeking to contest the ball and therefore contact was not unreasonable in the circumstances. No further action was taken.
Contact between Richmond’s Brandon Ellis and the GWS Giants’ Lachie Whitfield from the fourth quarter of Saturday’s match was assessed. The ball was loose with both players coming to the contest. Ellis runs through the line of the ball and seeks to win possession as Whitfield approaches the contest. Ellis braces for contact with Whitfield and high contact is made to the Giants’ player. It was the view of the panel that Ellis was contesting the ball and no further action was taken.
