Geelong Cats forward Tom Hawkins’ one-week suspension upheld
Geelong forward Tom Hawkins’ attempt to clear his name at the AFL Tribunal has failed after his one-week suspension was upheld.
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Geelong’s superstar forward Tom Hawkins has failed in his attempt to have his one-week suspension overturned.
The star cat will now miss Friday night’s preliminary final against Richmond at the MCG after his pleas fell on deaf ears.
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“I felt like I got a really fair hearing. I’m really disappointed that I’m not going to be there with my teammates on Friday night, however my job now is supporting them as best that I can, and lend a hand where I can, and prepare myself to play next week,” Hawkins said after learning his fate.
JUST IN: Tom Hawkins has had his one-match ban upheld by the tribunal.
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) September 16, 2019
Hawkins was offered a one-week suspension for striking West Coast’s Will Schofield during the third quarter of their semi final clash last Friday night.
The incident was graded as intentional with high contact and low impact, equating to a week under Match Review Officer Michael Christian’s guidelines.
Will Tom Hawkins face scrutiny from the MRO for this incident with Will Schofield? pic.twitter.com/mFcZHc5Uid
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) September 13, 2019
The counsel didn’t take long deliberating Hawkins’ fate with the star Cat arguing he didn’t “intentionally hit” Schofield.
West Coast’s medical report showed Schofield was assessed at three-quarter time and had suffered “moderate pain to his temple”.
Hawkins entered a guilty plea, but attempted to get the charge downgraded to careless instead of intentional.
“No, I didn’t intentionally hit him,” Hawkins said.
“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 says Schofield had “grabbed his arm” as he was attempting to run past him and believes he hit him in the neck rather than his head.
“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,” Hawkins says.
AFL counsel Nick Pane QC put it to Hawkins he hit Schofield with a “roundhouse swing”, the Cats however argued that claim. But it didn’t matter in the end with the Tribunal announcing the one-week suspension was to be upheld.
The loss of Hawkins is a huge blow to the Cats chances of knocking off the premiership favourite Tigers on Friday night.
Hawkins was named as the All-Australian full forward following a stellar 2019 season, but without him in the forward 50 it leaves a gaping hole for the Cats.
The loss of Hawkins will force a reshuffle from the Geelong coaching staff as they look to advance into the Grand Final.
Friday night’s game against Richmond gets underway at 7:50pm (AEST) at the MCG.
Originally published as Geelong Cats forward Tom Hawkins’ one-week suspension upheld