Stretcher misplacement, a doctors order and an umpiring error were the three factors which resulted in ‘Stretchergate’ at the GABBA on Sunday afternoon.
When Sydney ruckman Callum Sinclair went down clutching his knee in the crucial stages of the final quarter against Brisbane on Sunday, the Swans doctor called for a stretcher to help him off the field.
Ground staff then ‘had trouble’ finding the stretcher and in that time Sinclair began to run off the field.
The incident left Justin Leppitsch ‘filthy’ after the game and has since been investigated by the AFL.
The investigation showed that the ground manager had received the request from the Swans doctor for the stretcher to be bought out onto the ground.
‘In the process, the 15 seconds or so that it took to get their hands on the stretcher, the player then jumped up,’ AFL Operations Manager Mark Evans told Sports Today.
At the time the whistle was blown to stop play, Pearce Hanley and Jarrad McVeigh were in a one on one duel in the Lions forward line, who trailed by just three points.
‘It’s hard to know what would have occurred from there,’ Evans said.
Sinclair has since a scan on his knee which revealed bone bruising but no ligament damage.
He remains a chance to play on Saturday against Essendon.