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Geelong have been dealt a major blow at the AFL Tribunal on Monday night, as the panel ruled against their appeal and upheld a one-match ban for star forward Tom Hawkins.
Hawkins was offered the one-game suspension by the AFL’s Match Review Officer Michael Christian on Saturday, who charged him with striking Will Schofield and assessed the incident as intentional, low-impact, high contact.
A West Coast Eagles medical report said Will Schofield was assessed at three-quarter time, and did not require any treatment. However, it was recorded that he experienced “moderate pain to his temple.”
Hawkins accepted the charge as high-contact and low-impact, but argued that his conduct was careless, not intentional, a distinction that, if accepted, would see his suspension downgraded to a fine.
“No I didn’t intentionally hit him,” Hawkins said while giving evidence.
“I was trying to fight for best position to get back to the football, or where the football was coming from.
“I was restricted in the fact I was being held. I was just trying to get best position on my direct opponent.”
Hawkins said that Schofield grabbed his arm “pretty forcefully” as he attempted to run towards the contest.
“The only way I felt like I could get away, other than turning my back on play, was to pull my arm out as forcefully as I could,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins said Schofield dipped down as a result of him pulling his arm away, and that he made contact to Schofield’s neck with the inside of his forearm.
He said that when he realised he had made contact with Schofield, he went back to him “to make sure he was OK.”
The AFL’s counsel Nick Pane argued that Hawkins’ version of events didn’t explain his clenched fist or outstretched arm.
Pane argued that Hawkins “clearly has a clenched fist” during the incident, and that he had made a “forceful swinging motion”.
Hawkins’ lawyer Ben Ihle disagreed, saying the motion of Hawkins returning to his running trajectory after wrenching his arm free was what had caused the strike.
At one point during his testimony, Hawkins stood up to give the Tribunal a physical re-enaction of his attempt to run past Schofield.
Geelong could still pursue an appeal of the AFL Tribunal’s finding, but it appears unlikely they will go down this path.
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