Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker is set to face scrutiny from the AFL match review officer after pushing his opponent into a contest, hurting his own captain in the process. The controversial tactic made several headlines last year with multiple players suspended by the league. Such was the concern that a rule change was implemented for 2026 and Walker now faces a nervous wait.
The former captain shoved Geelong defender Connor O’Sullivan into the path of Crows skipper Jordan Dawson and the Cats’ Irish star Mark O’Connor. O’Sullivan and Dawson both went to ground, with the latter landing his hip on the former’s foot. Both were in pain and play was briefly stopped by the umpire to check on the two players before O’Sullivan took the free kick.
While there was confusion over the stoppage, attention quickly turned to Walker’s action. “The AFL doesn’t like this,” Kane Cornes said in commentary on Channel 7. Mitch Cleary added: “They’ve cracked down on it hard in the last few seasons so Tex Walker will be under the scrutiny of the match review officer after that push. That will be frowned upon.”
O’Sullivan and Dawson were both up and running without issue soon after. “Both looked dead half a minute ago,” Brian Taylor noted. Cornes theorised the lack of injuries was “really fortunate” for Walker, who could still be hit with a rough conduct charge from AFL match review officer Michael Christian.
MRO rules were changed this year to ensure players could face a charge even if a push resulted in a teammate being injured, rather than just an opponent. Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell copped a three-game ban last year for pushing St Kilda’s Liam O’Connell into a contest, leading to a concussion. He was the first player to be suspended for the act.
His teammate Sam Lalor suffered a broken jaw and a concussion in a pre-season game after being nudged into a contest by West Coast’s Reuben Ginbey. Emerging St Kilda star Mitch Owens also copped a shoulder injury during a pre-season match when he was pushed into an opponent. Then Brisbane defender Brandon Starcevich suffered the first of his two concussions in 2025 when he was shoved into a contest in a practice game against Adelaide.
