ST KILDA defender Nathan Brown has been sent straight to the tribunal for his late bump on Essendon’s Adam Saad.

Brown’s late hit, which concussed Saad and saw him take no further part in the Bombers’ big win at Etihad Stadium, has been graded by match review officer Michael Christian as intentional with high impact and high contact.

His case will be heard on Tuesday night next week.

Saad did not have an opportunity to brace for contact and didn’t see the big hit coming and his head was clearly whiplashed in what St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt described not just as “late”, and not just “very late”.

In his view, it was “very, very late”, which hurts Brown.

“It was very, very late and the player (Saad) is not suspecting of contact there,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.

“The Shaun Higgins one from earlier in the year with Ryan Burton, it was a similar type clash but Higgins had the footy and he was meant to be expecting contact, that’s why Burton got off.

“Here the ball is gone so you are not expecting body contact in that situation. There’s a duty of care and he failed to live up to that.”

Brown and Saad shared a word after the game — a few sorrys, an “I hope you’re OK”.

“Thanks for all the messages and support,” Saad tweeted on Friday night.

“Great win by my brothers, hope to be back out there with them next week.”

There were suggestions by some that Brown is a “sniper”. He’s not.

Like AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson affirmed in Tuesday night’s tribunal case against Andrew Gaff.

“Sometimes good people do bad things,” he said.

“That doesn’t make them bad people.”

Essendon’s Cale Hooker has been offered a $1500 fine for misconduct against Daniel McKenzie.