Marlion Pickett act towards Clayton Oliver divides AFL as 'dumb' move savaged by fans

Richmond’s Marlion Pickett faces a nervous wait to see if he'll be charged for striking Melbourne's Clayton Oliver in an incident at the MCG on Wednesday night that's divided AFL fans. The flashpoint came in the first quarter of the Demons' 13.7 (85) to 5.12 (42) win that saw them climb into the top four - at least temporarily.

Melbourne's Daniel Turner - who is better known for his defending - kicked the first goal of his AFL career before adding two more for good measure in the 43-point win. But it was Pickett's strike to the stomach of Oliver that proved a hot topic for debate during and after the match.

Towards the end of the first quarter, footage showed Pickett hitting Oliver in the midriff with his right hand while both players were well away from the ball. Oliver keeled over immediately after the contact and lay on the MCG turf momemtarily as players from both sides streamed in and a brief melee ensued.

“He went to ground, he’s copped a belt to the guts and straight away his teammates got over. They are not happy at all here,” Geelong great Cameron Ling said in commentary for Seven. The incident drew backlash from viewers, many of whom slammed Pickett for the off-the-ball contact and some who accused Oliver of play-acting.

Marlion Pickett act compared to Scott Pendlebury's

Seven's Theo Doropoulos spoke about the incident after the final siren and compared it to a similar one involving Scott Pendlebury earlier in the season. Pendlebury escaped suspension but was handed a fine for his open-handed hit to Brisbane superstar Lachie Neale's stomach but the ball was in close proximity to both players on that occasion, unlike Wednesday night's incident.

"The new AFL rules means this will be graded as intentional, it was off the ball. It’s all going to come down to the impact," Doropoulos said on Seven’s post-game coverage. "It’s a fine if it’s low, it's one game if it’s medium. Now we saw one of the great champions of the AFL get away with this one up in Brisbane in Scott Pendlebury.

“This was on Lachie Neale at the stoppage, it was a fine only. Given it was around the ball it can be careless. (But) Marlion’s was off the ball so it’s going to be intentional. That’s the only sticking point, whether it’s medium or low.”

AFL world debates Marlion Pickett strike on Clayton Oliver

While many viewers thought Oliver made more of the contact from Pickett than might have been warranted, others insisted it was a totally unnecessary act from the Richmond player that deserved a suspension. Triple M’s Rudi Edsall was among those commenting: “That action from Marlion Pickett should be a week no questions asked IMO. Completely unnecessary.”

If the MRO determines the strike from Pickett low impact then he can expect a similar $2500 fine (with an early guilty plea) that Pendlebury received. However, if the MRO decides that it was medium impact then Pickett will be facing a one-game suspension that could see him miss the round 8 clash with Fremantle.

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The Tigers would no doubt challenge that at the AFL tribunal in the wake of this week's contentious ruling on GWS star Jesse Hogan. The Giants player won his appeal against a one-game ban for striking Lewis Young in the face, during an off-the-ball incident against Carlton. The strike was graded as intentional conduct, low impact and high contact but the MRO's one-game ban was overruled after the tribunal determined the contact from Hogan was "negligible".

with AAP