Hawkins suspended for ‘angry, frustrated’ contact with umpire
Related Story: Should Nic Naitanui cop a one-week AFL ban for this tackle?
Geelong star Tom Hawkins has been suspended for one match after pleading guilty to intentionally making contact with an umpire.
Hawkins was booked for intentionally making contact with umpire Dean Margetts during Friday night's match against Greater Western Sydney.
He brushed away Margetts' hand after conceding a 50-metre penalty following a marking contest, in an act the AFL described as "dismissive".
It was sent straight to the tribunal by Match Review Officer (MRO) Michael Christian.
Hawkins' legal team met with AFL lawyers prior to the hearing and agreed he would plead guilty on the understanding the AFL would only seek a one-week penalty.
Making contact with an umpire, even accidental, is off-limits in the AFL.
"This is one of those instances where the force of the contact is not the point," the AFL's legal counsel Jeff Gleeson SC told the tribunal.
"In that hostile environment he intentionally made physical contact with the umpire … an angry, frustrated movement of the arm."
Gleeson told the hearing it was important the tribunal sent a message in deciding Hawkins' fate.
"This is the point at which we say, 'if you intentionally make contact with an umpire, you will be suspended'," he said.
Wrong decision made in a 'split second'
Speaking after the hearing, Hawkins said the decision to suspend him was "made in the best interests of the game".
"I absolutely respect the umpires and their importance to the game at all levels," he said.
"The tribunal came up with a decision today that was in the best interests of the game and I totally respect that."
His advocate Ben Ihle told the hearing Hawkins had re-watched vision of the incident multiple times to try and understand what had occurred.
"In that split second, he reacted, brushing the umpire's hand away," Mr Ihle said.
"He sees that no doubt he did the wrong thing."
But he stressed the contact Hawkins made with Margetts was minimal.
"There was no risk of injury to the umpire here," he said.
Naitanui's tackle challenge delayed
Nic Naitanui's hearing to challenge his one-match ban over a dangerous tackle was postponed until Wednesday.
It was originally scheduled to be heard after Hawkins but the AFL agreed to move it after at the request of West Coast, who said its long-standing legal counsel was unable to get to Melbourne in time.
In the last quarter of the Eagles' win over Port Adelaide, Naitanui chased down Karl Amon before riding him into the turf.
Amon was awarded a free kick for a push in the back, took his kick and played out the rest of the game.
But his post-game medical report suggested he suffered a delayed concussion, leading Christian to rule the tackle as careless, medium impact and high contact.
The decision to ban the ruckman was a controversial one, with Eagles coach Adam Simpson labelling it a "head-scratcher".
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