Cats back Stewart after bump sends Anderson to hospital

Geelong coach Chris Scott has launched an impassioned defence of Tom Stewart as the star utility faces AFL scrutiny over the bump that landed Gold Coast's Noah Anderson in hospital.

Stewart crunched Anderson in a heavy collision during the fourth quarter of the Cats' dour 9.7 (61) to 5.7 (37) victory at a rain-soaked GMHBA Stadium on Saturday.

Play was held up while Anderson was assessed by medical staff, before he jogged slowly off the ground. He was eventually taken to the Suns' change-room.

The Gold Coast captain was cleared of concussion after his head hit the ground following the body contact from Stewart, but was later taken to hospital for scans on his chest region.

Scott insisted Stewart showed the appropriate duty of care to Anderson and was adamant there would have to be a fundamental shift in rules for the five-time All-Australian to face sanction over the bump.

"If it's a protective action where contact's unavoidable and you don't get them in the head, then you've done everything you can," Scott said after the match.

"I sort of feel for Noah. Everyone loves him, he's a gun player and it was pretty heavy contact to the ribs, but it was to the body.

"Stewy, I thought his duty of care to Noah was as good as it could have been, and he was good enough to hit him in the body."

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick didn't feel there was anything untoward in the bump from Stewart, who was given a four-match ban in 2022 for a nasty hit on Richmond's Dion Prestia.

"The game's combative, accidents happen on the footy field. It's one of those things," Hardwick said of Saturday's incident.

"We'd love Noah to keep playing (but it's) within the rules, still allowed to bump.

"It was a reasonable hit, a solid hit. He's a big boy, Tom Stewart.

"But once again, we'll make it very clear, it was chest. It wasn't head or anything like that - no concussion.

"From our point of view he'll just go there (hospital) and see what that comes back at."

Hardwick was more concerned with his team failing what he had termed a "litmus test" before the match, and ceding their top-four spot to Geelong in the process.

The Cats never trailed and pulled clear after halftime to improve their record to 9-4 with a fourth straight win, while Gold Coast slipped to 8-4 with a second successive defeat.

It was also the Suns' ninth loss in as many visits to Geelong's Kardinia Park base - eight of those against the Cats - since their AFL inception in 2011.

Tyson Stengle (four goals) and Max Holmes (40 disposals, 10 clearances) starred for Geelong, while Tom Atkins (23, eight) and Mark O'Connor (21, seven) were also important.

AFL great Gary Ablett Jr was among the 29,502 fans on hand to watch his two former clubs do battle, and witnessed a scrappy, stoppage-heavy encounter in wet conditions.

Hardwick felt Geelong were better around the contest, conceding they were "too good, too clean and too strong" for the Suns.

"We've got some work to do and I was really pissed off, to be perfectly honest," he said.

"We knew the game that we needed to have, and we unfortunately failed the test."

Geelong lost Shannon Neale to an ankle injury before halftime, and Gold Coast's Jed Walter could face scrutiny for late and high contact on O'Connor with a swinging arm.