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Toby Greene is in serious danger of missing next Thursday’s crucial clash with the Western Bulldogs after appearing to hit Swan Isaac Heeney in the head with his forearm on Friday night.
Heeney was laying on the ground after being tackled by Sam Taylor in the first quarter of the ENGIE Stadium match when Greene moved in low, dropped to his knees and thrust his left arm towards Heeney’s forehead.
The first quarter incident involving Isaac Heeney and Toby Greene.Credit: Fox Footy
If match review officer Michael Christian rules the contact was high and intentional, but low impact, he will slap the hot-headed forward with a one-match ban.
Heeney did not appear affected by the clash and played out the match.
But Greene was not finished with controversy for the night, calling Sydney forward Tom Papley “overweight” during a Fox Footy interview at half-time as he walked off the ground.
The Giants were trailing by 28 points at the long break and the provocative Papley had chested the Giants skipper after kicking a goal late in the second term.
“He’s looking overweight … [let’s] see how he goes in the second half,” Greene said when asked about Papley’s actions.
While it would be a shock if Greene were penalised for the sledge, he would be concerned about today’s MRO findings, following the Giants’ rousing second-half comeback and 44-point win.
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The coming Thursday night match will have a significant bearing on the finals standings.
The fifth-placed Giants (13-6) are still in contention for a top four berth, while the Bulldogs (11-8) are fighting to break back into the eight.
Toby Greene and Tom Papley get in each other’s faces.Credit: AFL Photos
Greene has a long rap sheet, having already been charged a record-equalling 25 times throughout his career.
The AFL has a dim view on high contact. Melbourne defender Steven May was the latest player to feel the league judiciary’s wrath, rubbed out for three games for his heavy clash with Carlton’s Francis Evans. He is appealing the sentence.
Adam Kingsley said he did not see the first-quarter incident.
But the Giants coach and his Sydney counterpart Dean Cox did not think Greene had a case to answer for when it came to the “overweight” sledge.
“I don’t really listen to other players during half-time interviews. There’s always a bit of cheek between some of our players and their players,” Cox said.
“Some players push the boundaries a little bit – Toby’s probably one of those.”
Kingsley said he would be disappointed if Greene copped a fine for the comments.
“I mean, he didn’t use any language, did he?” Kingsley asked the media after the match.
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