FREMANTLE star Nat Fyfe appears certain to escape suspension and remain eligible for this year's Brownlow Medal after being reported for tripping in Sunday's clash against the Western Bulldogs.
Fyfe would likely have received carryover points under the old Match Review Panel guidelines that would have resulted in a suspension and ruled him out of the Brownlow Medal for the second straight season, given his poor record.
But under revised guidelines that were introduced this season he should now only receive a $1000 fine if he is found guilty of tripping Bulldogs opponent Koby Stevens.
The Match Review Panel will assess the incident on Monday and would need to deem it both intentional conduct and medium impact to lift the penalty up to a one-match suspension.
That would be increased to two matches given Fyfe's poor record in the past two seasons.
A more likely grading if he is found guilty is careless conduct and low impact to the body.
Under the new MRP guidelines, a player's bad record is not relevant to offences that only draw a fine.
However, if a player is guilty of three low level offences in one season he is suspended for one match.
In the past betting agencies have suspended all betting on the Brownlow Medal while Fyfe awaited his verdict from the Match Review Panel.
However, there has been no reaction from bookmakers to his latest indiscretion.
Fyfe received support from cross-town rival Nic Naitanui, who was fined for tripping Brisbane Lion Jack Redden in round four.
Naitanui said he could understand the thought processes that led to Fyfe lashing out with his leg in a bid to stop Stevens from playing on.
"Someone tried to run around me and I stupidly stuck my leg out," Naitanui said of the Redden incident.
"You don't want to get stepped in a game.
"You know you're going to be in the vision on the Monday morning with a guy running around you so I think it's just instinct to try and stop that guy getting past you and sticking whatever body part you can to stop that guy is what you just do instinctively. Unluckily for Nat he's tripped a guy."
