PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has defended Dan Houston as a "fair player" after the star defender landed himself in hot water over a high bump on Izak Rankine during a fiery Showdown on Saturday night.
Houston laid out Rankine with a shirt-front during the third quarter of the second-placed Power's important 11.14 (80) to 8.10 (58) victory at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Crows forward Rankine was eventually helped to his feet and driven off the ground on a medical cart with concussion.
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The high contact and damage inflicted on Rankine means Houston is likely to be referred directly to the Tribunal when the Match Review Officer's findings are delivered on Sunday.
It not only puts Houston's participation in Port's finals campaign in serious doubt, but means he may not play for the Power again.
The 27-year-old, who is contracted until the end of 2027, is considering a move home to Victoria.
"Once he cools down there'll be a moment," Hinkley told reporters post-game.
"He's a really fair player, he's an outstanding person.
"Anyone who's been involved in those type of situations I'm sure ... they know what's going on. They feel the consequence of what's happened.
"He'll wait and see what's delivered to him and he'll move on from there.
"He's a really, really good person. I can't say it enough. And I know people will sit there and go, 'I don't care whether he's a really, really good person'.
"I do. I care about him. He's a fantastic bloke."
Port players were immediately aware of the possible ramifications of the Houston-Rankine clash.
They showed their support for their teammate amid what Showdown Medal winner Zak Butters described as a "chaotic" situation.
"My thoughts are with Izak, obviously you don't want to see any player deal with that. I hope he's going OK," Butters said.
"But Dan's a valued team member. I love playing with him and if that was Dan or any other of my teammates, I'd throw my arms around him and have his back.
"I thought we really made him feel pretty comfortable out there in probably a tough situation for him."
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks refused to comment on the incident itself, instead switching the focus to Rankine.
"His health and welfare's the priority for us now," Nicks said.
"He's just making sure he's OK, and he is. He's up and about but we'll keep a close eye on him."
