Shocking moment footy star strikes rival during heated contest… but will he be punished?

Collingwood veteran Scott Pendlebury has landed himself in trouble after slapping Brisbane rival Lachie Neale.

Pendlebury, who has avoided suspension in 387 games, will face scrutiny following the incident during Thursday night’s win over the Lions, the Pies’ first of the season.

The midfielder admitted he “got sucked in” and apologized to Neale after leaving the Brisbane star doubled over in pain following the attack.

‘After the game I apologized. “I didn’t want to take him there and he said he did it last year and got a fine, so whatever it will be,” he told 7Sport.

“The retaliator always gets caught, Mom told me, and tonight they caught me.”

However, debate has continued over what punishment Pendlebury will receive for the move.

“This is where the AFL gets tangled up,” SEN’s Sam Edmund tweeted.

“I had the opportunity to suspend George Hewett and I failed. He also did not suspend Neale for a retaliatory attack. So Scott Pendlebury can’t accept that, can he? Both incidents while waiting at a stoppage.’

Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy: “It was very uncharacteristic of Pendles, very unsociable as well.”

“I think something like that could get you a fine and hopefully that’s it.”

“It just shows what this means to both teams that he’s prepared to do that.”

Hill, last year’s Norm Smith medalist, tormented the Brisbane defense again in the first quarter in front of a sell-out crowd of 34,022.

Both sides were riddled with mistakes, leaving simple marks and missing targets in almost comical scenes given the quality of their last encounter.

However, the Magpies’ speed said it, their ball movement too slick and direct as Hill popped up for three of five goals as the visitors threatened to break the game open.

However, the single hand of Dayne Zorko (30 disposals) showed the way and senior teammates Hugh McCluggage and Neale (35 touches, 10 clearances) responded with powerful second quarters to help turn the tide.

McCluggage (29 disposals) had nine touches and Neale five clearances in the one-sided period, Neale scoring an early goal on his return from a hamstring injury.

They continued to advance but were unable to take a mark, a score of 21-2 inside 50 is a reflection of their dominance as the Magpies remained scoreless.

But the Lions didn’t take the lead (Brisbane’s only mark inside Neale’s 50 until the end of the half) until Cam Rayner’s goal sounded the siren.

Collingwood rediscovered their streak after the break, Nick Daicos (30 touches) emerging as a decisive factor as they built a 20-point margin at the final break.

The hosts kicked the first two of the final period to pull within nine before efforts by Crisp, Elliot and Mihocek iced the contest as Lions fans headed for the exits with nearly 10 minutes still to play.