A 25-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with the assault of West Coast defender Will Schofield.
The Bell Post Hill man was charged by Geelong police with intentionally and recklessly causing injury and was bailed to appear in the Geelong Magistrates' Court on October 1.
Schofield sustained a fractured cheekbone after he was allegedly assaulted in Geelong in the early hours of Sunday morning. He had been granted permission by West Coast to stay in Victoria to visit friends and family following Friday night's loss to Collingwood.
Schofield was walking to his car with a friend in Geelong when he was allegedly attacked.
The 24-year-old was sent to Geelong Hospital after the incident but returned to Perth on Sunday night. The defender has been ruled out of Saturday night's clash with Adelaide but does not require surgery.
Teammate Chris Masten believes AFL players are easy targets for unprovoked attacks..
"Definitely I'd say," Masten said.
"Especially a big fella like Schoey, he sort of stands out a little bit as well. I think it's completely unprovoked with what happened.
"He was back in his home town as well, so people probably knew who he was and tried to make a name for themselves, or whatever it is. It's not great."
Masten could not believe anyone would want to hurt Schofield.
"He's like a big cuddly bear, he wouldn't hurt a fly," Masten said.
