Patrick Dangerfield in hot water over 'studs up' AFL act

Patrick Dangerfield could find himself a little lighter in the hip pocket this week after several former AFL stars called on the Geelong veteran to be fined for attacking a marking contest 'studs up'. Dangerfield wasn't penalised for his marking attempt on West Coast's Rueben Gibney, in which he kicked his leg out and made contact with Gibney's chest has he marked the ball.

No free kick was paid but comparisons were drawn to two other incidents from previous seasons, including another involving Dangerfield. A rule was introduced in 2019 to prevent players from entering a marking contest 'studs up' after GWS Giants star Toby Greene memorably set the precedent.

WOW: David King blasts Kane Cornes over 'disgraceful' AFL booing scandal

'INCREDIBLY POOR': Damien Hardwick lashes 'ridiculous' truth in Richmond loss

While it was a relatively innocuous moment in Geelong's 21.10 (136) to 13.11 (89) victory over the Eagles, the likes of David King and Leigh Montagna called on the Match Review Officer to fine Dangerfield over the marking contest. Dangerfield has already come under fire for the studs up action once before, in an incident with Gold Coast's Touk Miller in the 2022 pre-season.

King said that while it wasn't an overly common act from players, it was an important one to stamp out from the game. He said there was no need to suspend Dangerfield, but said it was an opportunity for the league to remind players not to do it without taking a star off the field.

“You can make your own decision whether this is part of our game or not,” King said on Fox Footy. “I think you need to stamp this sort of thing out. It’s not weeks, it’s probably a fine. We just don’t want that.

“Patty’s done it a couple of times. For me, fine him, put it on notice to everyone across the competition, this is the minimum standard.”

Fellow panellist Leigh Montagna said it would be a difficult incident to grade for the MRO, but agreed that players simply couldn't lead with their feet in a marking contest.

“I don’t know what the grading is for that. It will certainly get looked at, absolutely, we don’t want that,” he said. “We haven’t seen much of that lately.”

Geelong cruise past Eagles to win second game of AFL season

Geelong picked up their second win in a row, cruising past the Eagles despite a fast start in their Gather Round clash in South Australia. West Coast began brightly, kicking the initial two majors and recording eight inside 50s to one inside 10 minutes.

But the tide sharply turned and the Cats kicked the next 12 goals. Geelong's attacking aces Jeremy Cameron, Tom Hawkins and Brad Close feasted and Mark Blicavs and Ollie Henry scored two majors each.

Defender Esava Ratugolea grabbed nine marks and stalwarts Tom Stewart (24 disposals), Patrick Dangerfield (23), Isaac Smith (23, one goal) and Cam Guthrie (22) were chief ball-winners.

West Coast's Jake Waterman and Oscar Allen both slotted four goals, Jack Darling kicked two, Jamaine Jones gathered a match-high 25 touches and Tim Kelly had 22 disposals against his former club.

But the Eagles were blown away after their promising start as Geelong ruthlessly flexed their collective muscle. Hawkins scored two goals and set up another to create a 5.3 to 2.3 quarter-time lead.

And after Hawkins increased the margin with his third goal just 25 seconds into the second term, Cameron slotted three in four minutes. Cameron's purple patch came in a lopsided stretch when the Cats added 70 points to West Coast's one - they led by 64 points, 14.5 to 3.7, at halftime.

The damage was done, though West Coast outscored the Cats with 10 goals to seven in the last half.

With AAP

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.