Geelong have until Tuesday morning to decide whether to challenge Patrick Dangerfield's one-match suspension for his tackle on Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer, in a bid to make the star available for the Cats' crucial clash with Sydney on Friday night.Â
Dangerfield, the Brownlow Medal favourite, was offered the suspension on Monday afternoon by the AFL's Match Review Panel. Geelong were seeking legal advice from a QC on Monday and have until 11am on Tuesday to decide whether to challenge the decision at the tribunal.
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Club administrators, members of the football department and Dangerfield met at club headquarters on Monday evening to decide the next course of action.Â
Geelong coach Chris Scott said on Monday night that no decision had been made.Â
![Dangerfield said he thought Kreuzer still had the ball.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170802183239im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/l/l/2/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxmb36.png/1501537232524.jpg)
Dangerfield has been offered the one-match suspension after the match review panel deemed his tackle to be dangerous.
Patrick Dangerfield can accept a one-game ban for rough conduct on Matthew Kreuzer. Details: https://t.co/BiTrBEUsH0 pic.twitter.com/gchXtOGsCh
— AFL (@AFL) July 31, 2017
The incident was graded as careless contact with medium impact to the head, resulting in a two-match suspension that can be halved with an early plea.
Kreuzer suffered mild concussion as a result of the tackle and failed to return to the ground.
It's believed the combination of action and level of force ultimately tipped the scale against Dangerfield, with the match review panel consequently deeming the action as unreasonable in the circumstances.Â
In one of the most controversial decisions since the match review panel was introduced, the one-match suspension was handed down by Nathan Burke, Jason Johnson and Michael Jamison.
MRP member Jimmy Bartel said Dangerfield's conduct was careless.Â
"That was probably the discussion the MRP had yesterday; was it a careless act and unreasonable?" Bartel told RSN on Tuesday.
"As soon as they decided, well, maybe Danger had a duty of care and could have done a little bit better, then it comes onto the table.
"I think we all agreed, it wasn't intentional. It was a careless act."
The Cats superstar was seen to be in what was largely a two horse race with Richmond's Dustin Martin for the Brownlow Medal.
Geelong coach Scott told AFL360 on Monday night that there were a number of factors to consider when deciding to challenge or not.Â
"We are conscious that we don't want this to – and I don't think we have much choice by the way – we'd prefer it not to drag on and become a huge issue and take our focus off the game," Scott said.Â
He said that if there was no risk of Dangerfield getting a two match ban after an unsuccessful tribunal challenge the club would contest the suspension straight away.Â
"There's a little bit of a risk that our club and me are too flippant about it. We want to respect that it's a prestigious award [the Brownlow Medal] and it should form part of our consideration. We always put the team first and we wouldn't let anything override that.
"He [Dangerfield] is just so focused on team success and maybe he won one last year ... that might add a different dimension to it. I am full of admiration for his commitment to the team."Â
Dangerfield fronted the media on Monday afternoon after the match review panel handed down its findings.Â
"It's not ideal. But at the end of the day we'll make a decision that's best for the team," he said.Â
"Not the individual. It's what's best for the rest of our season."
He was adamant that eligibility for the Brownlow Medal would have no impact on whether or not the club decides to appeal.Â
"It's the last thing on my mind. What we're focused on is not only this week but the remainder of our season and putting ourselves in a really strong position coming to the end of the year and the start of finals."
An unsuccessful challenge will render Dangerfield unavailable for games against fellow top-four aspirants Sydney and Richmond.
It's the first time in his 196-game career that Dangerfield has been suspended.
In other significant news, retiring Hawthorn champion Luke Hodge has also been offered a one-match suspension after striking Sydney forward Tom Papley.
It's Hodge's third small offence which equates to a one-match ban.
Sydney superstar Lance Franklin will also be treading a fine line for the rest of the season, after receiving his second fine of the season.
The forward was fined $1500 for his open hand push to the face of Hodge during a feisty Friday night contest at the MCG.
If Franklin is fined one more time this year, he'll be in the same situation as Hodge; suspended for one game.Â
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