Adelaide Crows forward Izak Rankine has landed in hot water after an off-the-ball bump on Brisbane's Brandon Starcevich during the first term of their clash at the Gabba on Sunday.
The Lions went on to win the match by 11 points, but it came at a cost, with Starcevich unable to take any further part after quarter time.
Rankine ran through Starcevich when he wasn't watching, likely aiming for a body shot, while the ball was being thrown up.
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Rankine's head accidentally clashed with Starcevich's, which sent both players off the ground in need of medical attention.
Starcevich underwent a HIA, which he failed just on half time, ruling him out of the rest of the game. Rankine was helped off and attended to after being split open.
Rankine did return after being patched up and kicked two goals in the Crows loss.
Now, all attention will turn to the MRO and how they will grade this incident.
Despite the head clash being accidental, Rankine will likely be punished for the hit being off-the-ball, as well as his intention to bump Starcevich.
"You look back to the extreme cases of the Luke Parker in the VFL, which was a six-week suspension," Brisbane great Alastair Lynch said on Fox at half time.
"It won't be to that degree, but you'd think he's going to spend a few weeks on the sidelines."
Lions great Jonathon Brown agreed with Lynch.
"You've got to be really careful when a player is unaware (that a hit is coming)," Brown said.
"You know it's a defenceless player in that situation."
Rankine's act could be deemed intentional, high contact and high impact, which may see him handed up to a four-week suspension.
Starcevich was tagging Rankine until that concussion.
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