'He plays the game the right way': Blues skipper Patrick Cripps defends Isaac Heeney as tribunal awaits
Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps has leapt to the defence of under fire Sydney midfielder Isaac Heeney.
Heeney will head to the tribunal on Tuesday night to fight his one-match ban for his strike on St Kilda's Jimmy Webster.
If he fails his appeal, he will be ineligible for this year's Brownlow count, despite being one of the genuine favourites.
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The act was graded as intentional conduct, low impact, high contact.
Heeney was being tagged by St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster off-the-ball, with the Swans star attempting to shrug him off.
Isaac Heeney whacked Jimmy Webster off the ball. Nine
The midfielder moved his right arm and flung it into Webster's face, as he led for the ball in the Swans' forward 50.
Webster went down after the off-the-ball hit, with the St Kilda crowd heard booing when Heeney then got the mark in front of goal seconds later.
Webster was seen then with blood running from his nose from the hit to his face.
Now, Cripps, who won his own Brownlow Medal back in 2022, has vouched for Heeney's good nature in the game.
Patrick Cripps was crowned the 2022 Brownlow Medallist. Getty
"You'd hate to see someone like Isaac, if he did win (the Brownlow), miss out on the chance (because of suspension)," Cripps said on Tuesday.
"He's had a great year, he's a great player and I feel like he plays the game the right way.
"That's all I'd say about that."
As for Heeney's act in itself, Cripps understands the importance of protecting the head of all players, but doesn't see how the arm movement could be seen as anything more than attempting to free himself of a pesky tag.
Webster was left with a bloody nose after his hit from Heeney. Footy on Nine
"It's a tough question, it's obviously a rule that's been around since the start," Cripps said.
"I feel like with how, not the rules have changed, but how we're protecting the head and little incidents, I feel like it's definitely a thing that needs to be reviewed at the end of the year."
Records and controversies revisited in look back at every Brownlow Medal winner since 2000
Records and controversies revisited in look back at every Brownlow Medal winner since 2000
The last time a player was ineligible for a Brownlow medal that they won was back before the turn of the century.
In 1996, it was North Melbourne's Corey McKernan who won the Brownlow but was ineligible, then in 1997, Bulldogs star Chris Grant suffered the same fate.
