Bailey Smith is crushed by Kysaiah Pickett’s BRUTAL punch as AFL great Brad Johnson warns the Bulldogs’ weapon could have been ‘knocked out’ by a brutal blow to the head
- Bailey Smith took a brutal blow from Kysaiah Pickett on Saturday
- Bulldog’s weapon came up quickly despite being crushed by the impact.
- Melbourne star could be in trouble with match review officer
Demons star Kysaiah Pickett could find himself in hot water following a brutal blow to Bailey Smith at the MCG on Saturday during Melbourne’s 17.13 (115) to 9.11 (65) thrashing of the Western Bulldogs.
With just over 11 minutes left in the second quarter of the 2021 Grand Final rematch, Pickett shouldered first into the Bulldogs midfielder after leaping into the air a split second after the latter kicked the ball. foot.
The crushing impact sent Smith to the ground, but he quickly got to his feet and played the second quarter.
Pickett’s hit caused a melee, with the referees initially scrambling to separate the Bulldogs and Demons players before finally restoring order to the proceedings.
Pickett was informed by the on-field referee and the incident will now be reviewed by Match Review Official Michael Christian.
Speaking on Fox Footy, Bulldogs great Brad Johnson suggested that Pickett could be in trouble even though Smith appeared to be relatively unscathed.
Bailey Smith (left) was crushed by a brutal punch from Demons star Kysaiah Pickett.
Pickett could be in trouble after hitting the Bulldogs midfielder on Saturday
At a time when concussion is a major issue in all football codes, Johnson warned that rating the impact as ‘low’ risks sending the wrong message.
‘He [Smith] I could get knocked out,’ he said.
‘Ultimately, what he [Pickett] what he’s done is jumped off the ground, leaned forward, hit him under the chin with a bit of his back; that is what for me is impact and we classify it as low, medium and high.
‘The result has a part to play in that, so if that classifies as ‘low’ because Bailey sits and plays fourth, I’m not sure that sits very well.
“The action is not good, but the result is good, so that’s where it loses a bit for me.”
Former Geelong superstar Cameron Mooney echoed the stance, arguing that Pickett’s tackle could have been worse.
‘Kozzy was lucky [Pickett] because, in my opinion, it seemed shoulder to shoulder,’ said the three-time prime minister.
It was when he rolled, it was his back that hit Bailey on the chin. That’s why it was probably low impact and Bailey went back up.
“If it was shoulder to chin, he’s knocked out.”