Jolly Cleared

Collingwood News

Ruckman Darren Jolly is free to take on Sydney after he was cleared of any wrong doing by the AFL's Match Review Panel following his clash with Geelong's Mathew Stokes on Saturday night.
Jolly was reported for rough conduct after he tangled with Stokes during the second quarter of Collingwood's six-point win.
The Match Review Panel deemed that the force in the high contact was below what is required to constitute a report.
As a result, the 31-year-old will be available for selection against his former side on Friday night.

The Match Review Panel's formal assessment of the Jolly-Stokes clash was tabled as follows:
"The panel said Geelong’s James Podsiadly had the ball and had handballed in the direction of his teammate Stokes. Jolly is coming to the contest and was preparing to tackle, with his arms out in front of him, until the ball misses Stokes and does not go to the Geelong player. At the last moment, Jolly turns and braces for contact, when he can no longer tackle. After speaking to the umpire who laid the report, viewing all available footage and receiving a medical report from the Geelong Football Club, it was the view of the panel the majority of the contact was to Stokes’ body and the force in the high contact was below that required to constitute a reportable offence. No further action was taken."