Melbourne forward Jacob Van Rooyen may face MRO scrutiny after he collected Gold Coast defender Charlie Ballard high in a spoil gone wrong.
With the incident occurring late in Saturday’s contest which Melbourne won 85-90, Ballard was stretchered off the ground after the inside of Van Rooyen’s outstretched arm connected with the Sun’s head.
Leading journalist Damian Barrett expects Van Rooyen to receive some sort of suspension from the MRO as a result.
“Jacob Van Rooyen has come across here,” Barrett said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“Everyone can have their own judgements on what will happen to him.
“He does attempt to contest the ball, but Ballard goes down there with what he told club officials after it felt like a ‘neck crack’, so he was stretchered off the ground.
“On the Van Rooyen incident, it will attract Match Review Officer attention and I’d be surprised if he’s playing next week.”
Barrett’s co-host Tony Jones doesn’t believe Van Rooyen should be suspended as he believes the act wasn’t a reportable offence.
“This is where it’s so wrong to judge on the outcome rather than the act,” Jones said.
“The most important thing here is the welfare of Ballard, so let’s put that on the table.
“But I think you could argue in any Tribunal room that his eyes were on the ball basically the entire contest.”
Melbourne will hope Van Rooyen is free to play in Round 9 when they face a struggling Hawthorn side at the MCG next Saturday.
"This is where it is just so wrong to judge something on the outcome as opposed to the act."
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) May 7, 2023
The panel debates whether Jacob van Rooyen should cop a ban for collecting Charlie Ballard. #9AFLSFS | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/0RN0OBtIwV