The man controversially taken out of last year's preliminary final has weighed into the debate about the bump, saying there is also an onus on the player being hit to protect himself.
Star midfielder Dylan Shiel believes match review officer Michael Christian made the right call on the hit made by Hawthorn's Ryan Burton, saying it needed to be treated differently to Lindsay Thomas's "reckless" shirtfront.
Trent Cotchin's hit on Dylan Shiel in last year's preliminary final
Photo: Channel 7
Shiel even said he should have done more to shield himself from Trent Cotchin's controversial knock which ruled him out of last year's preliminary final against Richmond. In that instance, Shiel was first at the ball but left himself open, which allowed Cotchin to make a desperate, though some might say reckless, attack at the ball.
"There's an obligation from both players to look after themselves as well as each other. It's a two-way street," Shiel said.
"I can't be expected to go in recklessly, exposing my head to a contest and get collected and point the finger at the opposition player. I've got to have the skills and awareness to protect myself because we play a physical brand of footy. These collisions happen. What happened last year between Cotch and I, you could argue I could have prevented that by protecting myself. I feel like there's an obligation by both players."
