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'I don't want to look like a faker': Oliver defends fall

Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver says West Coast's Will Schofield surprised him with an elbow to his jaw on half-time in Saturday night's match at Subiaco.

Schofield was placed on report by the umpires after hitting Oliver in the midst of a scuffle between the two teams.

Oliver immediately grabbed his jaw before rising to his feet to confront Schofield, but many fans felt the 19-year-old staged his fall.

Slow-motion vision showed Schofield did connect with Oliver, and the Demons midfielder confirmed he had his "sore" jaw checked by club doctors at half-time.

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"I just sort of hit him on the chest and I wasn't really expecting it, he's clipped me and rocked me a little bit," Oliver told Channel 7 after the win.

Quizzed again on the incident after seeing it on replay, Oliver defended his actions against claims he took a dive.

Schofield's elbow connects with Oliver. Pic: Channel 7
Schofield's elbow connects with Oliver. Pic: Channel 7

"(The elbow) probably doesn't look that bad but I guess I just wasn't ready for it," he said.

"I don't want to look like, obviously, a faker or anything like that. It just rocked me and I wasn't ready for it."

The incident will be analysed by the match review panel on Monday afternoon.

Richmond defender Alex Rance was roundly criticised for staging against Sydney's Buddy Franklin last weekend.

The All Australian was not fined by the MRP, who said "any exaggeration of contact was not excessive".