St Kilda star Brad Crouch is offered one-match ban for rough conduct charge

St Kilda midfielder Brad Crouch has been offered a one-game AFL ban for a high bump on Brisbane Lions defender Darcy Gardiner.

Crouch will miss the Saints’ final regular season game against Sydney if St Kilda cannot overturn the rough conduct charge at the tribunal.

The match review officer has graded the incident during the Lions’ 15-point win at Marvel Stadium on Friday night as careless, high and medium impact.

Brad Crouch has been offered a one-match ban for rough conduct on Darcy Gardiner

It comes after Brisbane coach Chris Fagan admitted he was ‘confused’ about the league’s high contact rules following the controversial decision to clear Carlton star Patrick Cripps over the incident that left Callum Ah Chee concussed.

The Blues rolled the dice on Cripps’s two-game ban by going to the appeals board and won a marathon hearing on Thursday night.

The decision freed Cripps up to play in their crucial game against Melbourne while Ah Chee was unavailable for the Lions under concussion protocols.

The St Kilda star made high contact with Gardiner’s head during their clash at Marvel Stadium

‘I’m probably a bit confused about how that’s going to be interpreted going forward, it’s fair to say,’ Fagan said on Friday night.

‘Good on Carlton for pursuing it and getting their player free but I thought we were all about protecting the head.

‘Cal Ah Chee had no chance to protect his own head last week.

‘He was off early in the game last week and he’s not playing this week as a result of it (concussion).

‘We get penalised for that and unfortunately Cal gets injured.’

Brisbane boss Chris Fagan admitted he was ‘confused’ by the AFL’s approach to high contact

Fagan’s comments were at odds with those of Carlton counterpart Michael Voss, who hopes the Cripps decision will give ‘more clarity’ about what players can do on the field.

‘The interpretation of that we felt like it was going to come out that way, we were obviously left a little bit disappointed with the outcome of the tribunal and we followed through the appeals process,’ Voss said on Friday.

‘I think the game still lends to evenly contesting the ball and that’s not changed.’

Meanwhile, Western Bulldogs defender Zaine Cordy is certain to come under MRO scrutiny for a high, off-the-ball bump on GWS youngster Tanner Bruhn.

The incident led to Bruhn’s teammates remonstrating with Cordy, as the off-contract forward-midfielder was placed in concussion protocols.