Geelong‘s Steve Johnson has been cleared by the AFL Tribunal to play in Saturday night’s blockbuster against Fremantle.
Johnson was found not guilty of misconduct for kneeing North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson during last weekend’s 32-point win at Etihad Stadium.
The tribunal needed just 10 minutes to agree with comments made earlier in the week by Geelong coach Chris Scott saying there was insufficient force to warrant a suspension, freeing up Johnson to take on recent rival Fremantle at Simonds Stadium.
The 31-year-old was aided by a statement from Thompson, who admitted Johnson had made contact to the area where he was hiding a broken rib.
“I didn’t think there was much force, it just obviously got the right spot where the previous injury was”, he said.
“I tried a couple of times to release from the scuffle and Scott Thompson was pulling me back”, Johnson told the tribunal.
“I was quite surprised by his reaction. I told him that I thought he was faking it.”
The Cats risked further penalty by challenging the Match Review Panel’s decision to hand Johnson a one-week ban, increased from a reprimand after head-butting Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley earlier this season.
“The prevailing view across the competition at the moment if, I’m reading it accurately, is that given some of the other incidents across the weekend, the Steve one doesn’t meet scrutiny,” coach Scott earlier in the week.
“If we do decide to take it up – especially at this stage of the year with the stakes on offer – we would have to be absolutely sure that this incident didn’t constitute a reportable offence.”
Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
