Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett has no case to answer after his high hit on Jake Waterman in the opening seconds of his side's clash with the West Coast Eagles.
Pundits were torn as to whether or not Pickett would be facing a stint on the sidelines - one that would subsequently rule him ineligible for the prestigious Brownlow Medal - but ultimately, he has been spared a sanction.
The MRO offered the following explanation for the ruling:
The incident involving Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett and West Coast's Jake Waterman from the First Quarter of Sunday's match was assessed by the Match Review Officer.
The ball is handballed in the direction of Waterman with Pickett approaching from side on with his eyes firmly fixed on the ball. As soon as Pickett realised Waterman was going to take possession of the ball he decelerates, lowers his body and drops his right arm in an attempt to minimise impact before making inevitable contact to Waterman.
It was the view of the MRO that Pickett did not elect to bump and that his actions were not unreasonable in the circumstances. No further action was taken.
Elsewhere, two Tigers were cited for incidents in their side's loss to the Crows at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
Kane McAuliffe can see his $1500 fine for careless contact with an umpire reduced to $1000 with an early plea, while veteran Jacob Hopper can see his sanction reduced the same way, after being cited for an attempt to trip in-form Crow, Wayne Milera.
