Essendon onballer Sam Durham is facing AFL suspension for what has been criticised as his “black-and-white” high bump on Carlton opponent Adam Cerra.
There was also plenty of commentary on Saturday night about why the Blues took so long to take Cerra off the ground for a concussion assessment after the incident.
Cerra was left with a black eye after his collision with Durham early in the second term of the 11.12 (78) to 11.4 (70) win to the Blues at the MCG.
The Carlton midfielder was bent over contesting a ground ball when Durham, also low to the ground, collected Cerra with a heavy bump.
While a doctor went onto the ground to check Cerra, it was another 14 minutes before the player was taken off for a concussion assessment.
He was cleared and played out the game.
“We probably took quite a cautious approach and did the HIA (head injury assessment), so we followed that through,” Carlton coach Michael Voss said.
“I would have thought the incident is more the conversation for me.”It’s pretty black-and-white – you just can’t do that any more.
“He (Cerra) seems fine … but this is one part of ongoing checks for the player.”
Durham was among Essendon’s best as they recovered from a poor start to pile the pressure on Carlton.
But he is certain to come under match review scrutiny for the Cerra bump.
“It will be what it will be … there’s nothing I can do about it,” said Essendon coach Brad Scott.
“Imagine being a player now … I understand all the challenges in the game around health and safety, but players probably have a more difficult job now in terms of duty of care to their opponents than they’ve ever had.
“Durham is a ‘go ahead’-type player and as hard at the ball as anyone, and that’s really what we encourage him and our players to do.”
