Riewoldt is in doubt for the Tigers’ crucial game against Port Adelaide after he badly rolled his left ankle in the final term of the pulsating encounter, won by the Demons.

Bugg, who texted an apology to Riewoldt after the match, was fined $1000 by the AFL match review panel for pushing the star Tiger as he was being helped from the ground to receive treatment.

“When I watch back now, I’m definitely remorseful,” Bugg told the AFL’s website.

“It actually makes me cringe when I watch the footage. At the time I didn’t really think of the consequences and what would come from it.

“You shouldn’t be allowed to make contact with an injured player because the main priority is trying to prevent injuries in our game.”

Riewoldt clearly took a dim view of Bugg’s actions.

“It’s not a great look for the game,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy.

“He’s nearly cleaned up our physio, who is one of the greatest blokes to walk the Earth, which I’m disappointed about too.

“I just think any sort of violence in footy … there’s no room for it whatsoever.”

Bugg, playing his fifth game for the Demons after crossing from Greater Western Sydney, polarised opinion with his flamboyant antics when he pointed to the stands and shushed nearby Tigers supporters as he scored a goal.

“That was a bit of character and passion coming out in my game,” Bugg said.

“[But] now looking back on it, it seems like I was putting the focus on myself and that doesn’t really sit too well with me.

“Where the team’s gone this year, we’ve been really team-orientated in our focus and that’s what has got us our three wins so far and that’s what’s put us in a good place for the year to come.”

Bugg’s apology follows a similar display of contrition from Richmond defender Alex Rance, who yesterday apologised for his cowardly hit on Jack Watts that landed him a two-week suspension and placed him at the lowest point in his career.

Rance’s elbow to the back of Watts’ head late in the loss to Melbourne earned him universal condemnation and a charge of striking.

A contrite Rance emerged on Tuesday to accept the ban, revealing he had texted Watts to say sorry before fronting his teammates.

Amongst the apologising, the reigning Tigers best and fairest winner had a plea of his own; don’t associate me with that.

“It’s certainly something I don’t want to be remembered for. It was a really stupid emotional act,” he said.

“It’s hard when one action can almost define you. I really want to get that message across – it’s so not me.

“It does hurt that I’ve put that perception out there that people could think that I’m a thug and condone those really violent acts.”

Rance refused to draw a link between his act and Richmond’s shocking form, as they slumped to a fourth-straight defeat on Sunday night.

“It’s hard to put and exactly when and why you snap … it’s on no one else but myself,” he said.

“I do put a lot of pressure on myself to perform at a high standard. That was an occasion that I should have done better in that contest.

“It was probably just a build-up for things. I’m a flamboyant character and wear my heart on my sleeve.

“It was a really emotional dumb thing to do when I should be much more professional.”

Rance has previously struggled to marry the demands of of elite-level football and his Jehovah’s Witness faith, which saw him contemplate walking away from professional sport more than once in recent years.

He said lashing out at Watts went against a “moral fibre” informed by his family and his faith.

And that’s why he agreed that it was the lowest point of his nine-year AFL career .

“I’ve had some pretty low points … but I think from a perspective of knowing better and knowing the person I want to be and the person I want to portray, absolutely [it’s the lowest],” he said.

“That’s what I’m really frustrated at myself at. Succumbing to that emotion and succumbing to the heat of the moment.”

Rance will miss the crucial match against Port Adelaide, as well as the following week against reigning premiers Hawthorn.

-AAP