Allegations of staging have left Greater Western Sydney co-captain Phil Davis "bemused" while coach Leon Cameron has dubbed them silly, poor and disappointing.
Premiership players David King and Cameron Ling were among the pundits to question whether Davis went down too easily during a recent clash with Western Bulldogs forward Jack Redpath.
Redpath copped a three-game ban last week after unsuccessfully challenging his striking charge.
Davis, who plays his 100th game for the Giants this weekend, was unimpressed with much of the commentary about the incident.
"I was a little bit bemused by it all," the key defender said.
"It's always interesting when people make comments without all the facts ... some of the people that were leading chorus in that didn't try to make contact or learn the facts.
"That's always a little bit disappointing."
Cameron, who played 256 AFL matches before pursuing a coaching career, was forthright in his defence of Davis.
"It was a little bit silly ... it was a bit poor," he said.
"It was disappointing coming from some ex-players ... because they know how hard the game is.
"For them to sit from afar and accuse someone of going down a little bit easily, I was a bit disappointed.
"Everyone's entitled to their opinion. My opinion is Phil is one of our toughest players."
Davis is well aware of how dangerous his profession can be.
The 26-year-old suffered internal bleeding and faced the prospect of losing a kidney in 2014.
Davis was hurt in a first-quarter collision but played on to help guide GWS to their maiden victory over Sydney.
Club doctors administered morphine after the match then rushed him to hospital.
Cameron referenced the incident but also the fact Davis was back on the park within three months of the injury that required two bouts of surgery and eight days in intensive care.
"He got back really quickly, and he gets hit hard every week," he said.
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