Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith could sit on the sidelines after being reportedly headbutting Zach Tuohi to his side’s 13-point rate near Geelong on Friday night.
Smith and Tuohi faced off towards the end of the third quarter before the 21-year-old Bulldog hit with a headbutt, the pair shook their heads and exchanged words.
The incident was reported to Smith shortly afterwards, when Tuhir had a clear scar on his forehead.
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This is the moment that later shocked the monster legend Gary Lyon.
“We’re shaking our heads at the moment. We can’t believe what we saw,” Gary Lyon told Fox Footy.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“If you think this isn’t going to be a story, stay tuned.”
Meanwhile, Lions legend Jonathan Brown says Smith’s headbutt Lance Franklin’s one-match ban for hitting Richmond’s Trent Cochin was worse than that.
“Absolute brainstorming. Old Liverpool kiss. We don’t see it often,” Brown said.
“I can’t think of any teammates who did it. Expensive because he was great at Bailey Smith’s work rate that quarter. What about the AFL? They called Buddy Franklin’s work cowardly, it’s worse.”
The AFL apologized after describing Franklin’s actions as “cowardly” at a tribunal hearing on Wednesday night.
While Smith and Tuohi waited for the match review officer’s results, they both ended their night with a friendly hug after the final siren, the hatchet being seen burying.
“Emotions were clearly getting better between the two of us,” Tuohi said after the game.
“I was pulling him and dragging him away as much as he was mine so there wasn’t much in it. When the game came so close and we cut such a big lead in a small gap, the emotions went high so there was everything. Love in the end.”
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was asked about the incident but said he had not yet seen the sight and could not speak to Smith.
“Something happened that I was aware of, but I didn’t get any details about it and I didn’t see it,” Beveridge said.
“I didn’t talk to him. I talked to the team but I didn’t talk to anyone.
“If anything happens I will be notified at some point.”
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