Violence & Brawls ·
Greene’s clash with Bontempelli brought a serious-misconduct charge
After the Giants’ 2019 elimination-final win, the AFL referred Toby Greene directly to its tribunal. Reports described an alleged eye gouge; coach Leon Cameron denied a plan to target Bontempelli.
In the first quarter of the 2019 elimination final at Giants Stadium, Toby Greene clashed with Marcus Bontempelli after the Bulldogs midfielder caught Greene’s teammate Brett Deledio in a dangerous tackle. The Giants went on to win by 58 points. Greene’s encounter with Bontempelli brought a separate consequence: the AFL charged him with serious misconduct and referred the incident directly to its tribunal.
Footage that emerged on the Sunday after the match showed Greene and Bontempelli grappling on the turf, with Bontempelli on his back, Fox Sports reported. A mark could later be seen beneath Bontempelli’s right eye. The report described an alleged eye gouge, but the footage as recounted did not establish how the mark occurred.
The AFL confirmed the serious-misconduct charge on Sunday night. Match Review Officer Michael Christian sent the incident to a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, ahead of the Giants’ semi-final against Brisbane, and Greene could not accept an early guilty plea. The initial match-review findings gave no details of the offence. The reports did not establish what the tribunal ultimately decided.
Greene had also been prominent in the Giants’ win, kicking three goals as GWS ended the Bulldogs’ season, 113–55. Bontempelli finished with 13 possessions while being closely attended by Matt de Boer, who received help from teammates. Those figures describe the football contest; the charge concerned Greene’s first-quarter encounter with Bontempelli.
A separate incident involving Bontempelli also drew a charge. Giants forward Harrison Himmelberg was charged with striking him in the chest during the first quarter and could accept a $2,000 sanction with an early plea. The two incidents prompted scrutiny of the Giants’ treatment of Bontempelli, but coach Leon Cameron denied there had been a devised plan to go after him.
Cameron instead pointed to de Boer’s approach and his previous encounter with the Bulldogs midfielder. “Matthew De Boer’s played strong all year. He’s very aggressive at the man and the footy. It was just a final, we raised the stakes by five or 10 per cent,” he told 3AW. Bontempelli had beaten de Boer in their earlier meeting, Cameron said. “(De Boer) was determined to try and make sure he could get back and square it up.”