The consensus among AFL pundits and fans is that Jeremy Cameron will be whacked with a lengthy suspension for his brutal hit on Brisbane Lions defender Harris Andrews – but the GWS star insists it was an accident.
Cameron collected Andrews with a raised elbow in a sickening head-on collision early in the first term as both players went up for a contested mark.
Andrews came off second best and was driven off the field on the medi-cab in a neck brace after appearing to be knocked out before he hit the Gabba turf.
The GWS key forward came under heavy criticism for past players, pundits and fans and will likely miss at least a month of footy for the hit through suspension.
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But Cameron, who expressed sympathy to Andrews, insists he meant no harm.
“I just saw the ball coming in and I like to play the ball really hard,” Cameron told Fox Footy.
“It was unfortunate I hit him in the head. I definitely didn’t want to hurt him like that.
“I just played the ball on its merits and I like hitting it nice and hard.
“… It’s unfortunate the way it panned out. Definitely didn’t want to hurt him.’’
Giants coach Leon Cameron rejected suggestions Cameron is ‘too hard at it’ but was reluctant to go into detail about the controversial incident.
“I could never say that he’s too hard at it but that’s what I love about him,” Cameron said.
“… I mean obviously clearly he’s been reported so it’s hard for me to comment on it, I’ve seen the replay.
“Look Jeremy’s a ball player, he’s hard at it … he just goes out and just wants to get the footy as hard as he possibly can.
“Things are going to happen in a footy game and that’s about all I can say about it.”
