Richmond midfielder Trent Cotchin is set to come under MRO scrutiny for a dangerous tackle on Ollie Wines in Saturday’s win against Port Adelaide.
Early in the clash Wines was sent off the field for a concussion test after he was tackled by Cotchin, with the back of his head hitting the Adelaide Oval surface.
While Wines returned to the field after being cleared of concussion, Power great Kane Cornes believes Cotchin will receive a one-week suspension based on previous incidents and the optics of the sling tackle
“I think he’ll get a week,” Cornes said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“We’ve seen (Will) Hayes get two weeks (for a similar action), I know the player (Sam) Menegola was concussed and Ollie Wines was checked off, but the AFL hate that action.
“I understand that (Wines wasn’t concussed), but you can’t be slinging a player who’s got one arm into the ground and smashing their head on the ground.”
Although Wines wasn’t injured in the tackle, Cornes believes the AFL will send a message as the Port Adelaide star was defenceless with one of his arms pinned.
“We’ll see, I believe that’s one week,” Cornes said.
“It won’t be the worst thing for Trent Cotchin to have a week off.
“The AFL don’t want to see this when a player is defenceless, it doesn’t matter if it was intentional or not.”
Match Review Officer Michael Christian will assess Saturday’s Round 21 incidents on Sunday with any decision to be released later this evening by the AFL.
"It was hardly intentional."
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) August 7, 2022
"It doesn't matter if it was intentional!"
Is Trent Cotchin in trouble with the MRO for this tackle on Ollie Wines? #9AFLSFS | Watch on @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/hTX504fP3W