Melbourne midfielder Jordan Lewis has defended young teammate Clayton Oliver following accusations he took a dive on Saturday night.
West Coast's Will Scofield successfully overturned his one-game ban for striking Oliver at the tribunal on Tuesday night.
Oliver went to ground from a Schofield hit during a scuffle at half-time, however, vision appeared to show Schofield largely missing Oliver's jaw and instead mostly collecting his shoulder.
The Demons' medical report indicated Oliver had a sore jaw, which contributed to Schofield's penalty. However, the Eagles successfully argued Oliver's pain could have been from another incident earlier in the quarter, while the vision was unable to determine exactly whether Oliver was struck in the jaw or not.
Despite Schofield's successful appeal, Lewis defended his teammate, saying he would not have taken a dive.
โHeโs got thick skin, the kid. He doesnโt really care what is said about him,โ Lewis said on AFL360 on Tuesday night.
โWhat I do know is the type of person that he is, and the player that he is, heโs not going to go to ground like that if nothing happened.
โHe just wouldnโt do it, heโs not like that.
โI remember when I was playing for Hawthorn that Cyril Rioli absolutely cleaned him up, right down the middle, and he got straight back up.
โSo heโs not a weak kid or anything like that.โ
Oliver said earlier in the week the knock simply took him by surprise, which contributed to him falling to the ground.
โ(The hit) probably doesnโt look that bad, but I just wasnโt ready for it,โ Oliver said after the Dees' three-point win over the Eagles.
