The AFL has closed the book on the alleged ‘inappropriate touching’ incident between Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions stars, but one footy great thinks they made the wrong decision.
The AFL’s Integrity Unit has closed its investigation into a ‘potential inappropriate touching’ incident involving Brisbane’s Henry Smith and Sydney’s Nick Blakey.
The clash occurred late in the first quarter after Blakey took a mark, fell to the ground, and Smith lost balance, making brief contact with Blakey’s backside.
There is also vision that suggests Blakey could have made inappropriate contact with Smith before that.
Both the Lions and Swans were aware of the AFL’s inquiries, but no complaint was made by Blakey or his club.
The league concluded no further action was required, saying the situation appeared worse in a still image than it did live.
The incident occurred during the match between the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans at the Gabba on Saturday
Brisbane player Henry Smith appeared to make contact with Swans star Nick Blakey’s backside while vision has also suggested Blakey made inappropriate contact as well
‘Following inquiries by the AFLIU into an incident during the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans match on Saturday it has been determined that no further action is required,’ the league said.
On Nine News, chief football reporter Tom Morris chose not to name Smith or include him in footage, and Footy Classified also avoided naming him when it aired later on Monday night.
While most accepted it as a non-incident, former Port Adelaide player Kane Cornes expressed disbelief at the AFL’s decision to drop the matter.
‘That has been cleared tonight by the AFL, I assume they have seen this vision,’ host Craig Hutchison said on Channel Seven’s The Agenda Setters.
‘Well, it was certainly unusual,’ veteran journalist Caroline Wilson replied.
‘AFL Integrity have had a look at this, I know that Brisbane spent a good two hours on the phone with AFL Integrity and it was dismissed.’
Cornes then said: ‘I cannot believe the AFL would look at that and say there’s no case (for Smith) to answer.
‘That’s one of the more unusual things I’ve seen.’
Former Port Adelaide premiership winner Kane Cornes believes the incident should have been investigated further
‘It couldn’t have been just an accident?’ Wilson asked.
‘Well, it didn’t look like one to me,’ Cornes replied.
‘Both players are absolutely fine with it,’ Wilson added.
The Daily Mail does not suggest either player has engaged in appropriate contact.
The footage of the incident generated waves of comments from footy fans on social media, the vast majority of which are too indecent to be published.
It’s not the first time the AFL has had to deal with allegations of a player making contact with a rival’s private parts.
In 2023, Gold Coast’s Touk Miller was suspended for one game for executing a ‘squirrel grip’ on the genitalia of Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko.
In 2020, Richmond’s Nick Vlastuin and Jayden Short were forced to apologise for inappropriately touching teammate Mabior Chol during a team song celebration.
AFL 360’s Gerard Whateley and Garry Lyon also discussed the Smith and Blakey incident and agreed it warranted further investigation.
‘This is the fleeting interaction on Saturday between Nick Blakey and Henry Smith,’ Whateley said.
‘But this is the angle as to why the AFL needed to investigate what had happened.
‘We went through a couple of different phases with this during the day.’
Lyon agreed, saying Smith in particular was lucky to escape further scrutiny.
‘The first photo I looked at I went “hang on a minute”. And then the other bit of vision which turned up I said “hang on a minute”,’ he said.
‘They needed to look at that and this young man, I think that’s unnecessary. The AFL have cleared him of any wrongdoing, there’s no complaint from Sydney or Nick Blakey.
‘I think it’s unnecessary, I just thought he lost his balance and put his hand down for balance initially.
‘It’s just not what we need. If they had have fined him it wouldn’t have surprised me. In the end they’ve probably sent a message to him pretty clear to say hey, this is not on in any circumstance.’
