Steve Johnson has been cleared by the match review panel (MRP) after inadvertently contacting Jarrad McVeigh in the groin area.

The MRP assessed the incident and found that Kurt Tippett and Rhys Stanley had contested a mark when the ball came to ground, as the umpire paid a free kick to the Tippett player.

While the players had not yet stopped play for the free kick to Tippett, Johnson and McVeigh simultaneously moved to contest the ball at the ground level. Johnson chopped his arm towards McVeigh in an attempt to block his opponent’s passage to the ball and, in doing so, made contact to McVeigh’s groin area.

It was the view of the panel that Johnson’s actions were not considered reportable as he was trying to win position for the ball, had it been loose.