GWS coach Leon Cameron and club co-captain Phil Davis have defended star forward Jeremy Cameron from detractors following his ban for striking Brisbane's Harris Andrews.
Cameron's hit on Andrews - who was left with a severe concussion and bleeding on the brain - brought last weekend's Brisbane-GWS match to a standstill.
Footy itself is only just catching up, with the GWS star copping a hefty suspension at the Tribunal on Tuesday.
Cameron defended the "unfortunate" incident after the game, but it wouldn't save him being referred directly to the Tribunal .
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On Tuesday evening, Cameron pleaded not guilty to striking Andrews intentionally, arguing that the lesser charge of careless would have been more appropriate.
However, it took the Tribunal just 33 minutes to grade Cameron's strike as intentional and slapped him with a five-match ban.
"I'd just like to say I didn't mean to hurt Harris," Cameron said afterwards.
"Unfortunately, I did. I'm very sorry for that and I hope he gets back to playing football very soon."
Watch the incident in the player below.
Will Jeremy Cameron come under scrutiny for this clash that left Harris Andrews unconscious?
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) June 23, 2018
If so, what would be an appropriate sanction?#AFLLionsGiants pic.twitter.com/Vay8P9sot2
Coach Cameron defended his young star, saying key people in the media should be embarrassed for their 'agenda-setting' comments.
"The thing that disappointed me the most was the actual incident itself because we felt for Harris, but the second part was the assassination of Jeremy's character from key people (in the media) that clearly had an agenda," he told reporters on Wednesday morning.
"I was really disappointed, especially with people with prominent positions in the AFL media.
"Calling someone a thug or a dog, those words don't relate to Jeremy Cameron. The people that have said that should be embarrassed and really disappointed."
On Tuesday, Giants co-skipper Davis also leapt to Cameron's defence, hitting out at vocal critics of his teammate.
"Some of the reaction has really disappointed me," Davis said on The Footy Phil podcast.
"When you have people who speak with bias, slanderous words. The hyperbole surrounding some of the comments was disgusting.
"I get frustrated because people forget Jeremy is a human being as well."
Jeremy Cameron's discplinary record
| Year | Round | Opponent | Charge | Outcome | Sanction |
| 2012 | 9 | Carlisle | Wrestling | Guilty | $900 |
| 2012 | 15 | Young | Striking | Not guilty | |
| 2014 | 10 | Grimes | Striking | Guilty | Reprimand |
| 2014 | 10 | Grimes | Misconduct | Guilty | $1800 |
| 2014 | 11 | Roughead | Rough conduct | Guilty | 1 match |
| 2015 | 8 | Cheney | Forceful front-on contact | Guilty | $1000 |
| 2015 | 18 | Engaging in melee | Guilty | $1000 | |
| 2016 | Pre-season | Mathieson | Rough conduct | Guilty | 4 matches |
| 2017 | Pre-season | Thompson | Striking | Guilty | $1000 |
| 2018 | 9 | Schofield | Kneeing | Guilty | $2000 |
| 2018 | 14 | Andrews | Striking | Guilty | 5 matches |
The critics on the Cameron-Andrews incident have been wide-reaching.
After the game, David King said a suspension for Cameron would be enough to end the team's premiership hopes in 2018.
In a column for The West Australian, commentating great Dennis Cometti said the collision initiated by Cameron was "inexplicable", and that "he lacked both compassion and understanding".
Garry Lyon and Tim Watson both said Cameron has to change the way he attacks the contest during games.
"My only problem is with one thing he said," Lyon said on SEN Breakfast on Wednesday morning.
"Last night, Cameron said, 'I was doing what I do on a number of occasions throughout the game'.
"That’s my issue. If he thinks that is what he does throughout the game, he has to change."
Watson added: "He has to modify the way he goes about trying to attack the ball.
"There’s a recklessness and a carelessness in the way that he goes about it, his technique has to improve."
However, some sympathised with Cameron, including experienced Daily Telegraph scribe Neil Cordy, who said the hit was "accidental rather than intentional", and that the Tribunal got it "blatantly wrong".
Dermott Brereton told the Telegraph Cameron deserved a "two or three-week" ban, not five, saying: "Both boys are in the air when the collision happens and once there was contact from behind to Jeremy he takes protective action and raises his forearm.
"He even turns his head away. If you're looking to elbow somebody in the head in a nasty fashion, you don't turn your head away."
GWS sit in 10th on the ladder, two points behind eighth-placed North Melbourne, and will play Hawthorn at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
Cameron won't be available for selection until the Giants' round 20 clash with Carlton on August 5.
