Geelong star Tom Stewart could come under scrutiny for a bone-crunching bump on Gold Coast captain Noah Anderson on Saturday.

The Cats emerged 24-point winners at GMHBA Stadium in a slugfest that will be remembered for the brutal collision.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Noah Anderson crunched in brutal bump.

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With time ticking on in the final quarter Anderson went after a loose ball in defensive 50 as Stewart came from the opposite direction.

As Anderson went down to collect the ball, Stewart met him hard into the ribs and shoulder.

The gun Sun immediately collapsed in a heap with umpires quickly stopping play.

Anderson was eventually able to walk from the field but looked in serious discomfort.

He appeared in good spirits a short time later on the bench, but was quickly ruled out and taken to the rooms for further assessment.

The bump will certainly be looked at by the match review officer. Stewart appeared to make contact to the body region but did choose to bump rather than contest the ball.

“Bone-rattling bump,” commentator Mark Howard said on Fox Footy.

“Certainly live it looked like it didn’t get him high so that confirms that. It’s just in that rib section. It was as big a collision as I’ve seen this year,” Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis added.

“It’s the bump of the year,” Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney said on SEN.

Anderson 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.

He was subsequently cleared of any major internal damage, 7NEWS Melbourne’s Mitch Cleary reported.

Anderson joined teammates on the Suns’ flight home on Sunday morning.

Cats coach Chris 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.”

The Cats moved into the top four with the hard-fought victory that was achieved without superstar Bailey Smith, who was a late withdrawal with a hamstring issue.

Max Holmes stepped up in the absence of his teammate with 40 possessions (19 contested) and 10 clearances in a brilliant performance.

Tyson Stengle defied the wet and wild conditions with a four-goal haul, while Gryan Miers and Stewart were also influential.

Tom Atkins (23 disposals, eight clearances) was involved in a tough battle with Gold Coast midfielder Matt Rowell (24, 10), and Mark O’Connor (21, seven) did well opposed to Suns skipper Anderson (19, 10).

Surprisingly, Jeremy Cameron and Patrick Dangerfield were very quiet, failing to kick a goal between them and having little influence.

But they won’t mind in the slightest as the Cats jumped the Suns into fourth place with the win.

Geelong never trailed and improved 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.

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 contest.

In difficult conditions, Gold Coast were held goalless in an opening quarter for the first time in coach Damien Hardwick’s 35-game tenure.

But they were only 12 points in arrears at the first break and kicked three of the next four goals to draw level before halftime.

Two of those — plus one for the Cats — came directly from free kicks as local fans voiced their displeasure.

Geelong lost key forward Shannon Neale to a left ankle injury late in the second term, but Stengle struck late to give the home side a seven-point buffer at halftime.

Stengle added another two goals in the third term, and the Cats turned for home with a 6.7 to 4.3 lead.

The 16-point margin was always going to be difficult for the Suns to rein in and the game was effectively over when Ollie Dempsey slotted the first goal of the last quarter.

Stengle completed his haul with a classy finish on the run in the forward pocket nearing time-on of the final term.

It wasn’t a night for key forwards, with Geelong’s Coleman Medal leader Cameron held goalless and Suns challenger Max King managing just one major.

Playing predominantly in attack, Dangerfield didn’t have a kick in the first three quarters and finished with seven disposals on his return from a hamstring injury.

Gold Coast defender Sam Collins was a strong performer, but key forward Jed Walter could face scrutiny for late and high contact on O’Connor with a swinging arm.