Hawthorn captain James Sicily is facing another suspension after laying a tackle that concussed Brisbane star Hugh McCluggage.
Sicily figured prominently in the Hawks’ upset 25-point victory over the Lions, his first match back after serving a one-game suspension for rough conduct against St Kilda’s Anthony Caminiti.
McCluggage suffered a concussion midway through the fourth quarter when he was knocked out cold in concerning scenes when his head hit the ground following a tackle from Sicily.
He didn’t move for almost a minute before staggering off the field with the help of trainers.
Sicily is certain to be in trouble with the match review officer with the AFL clamping down on dangerous tackles this year.
Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said he hadn’t watched a replay of the tackle but felt for McCluggage being concussed.
“At the time I thought it was such a desperate act, he’s diving and just managed to get fingertips onto him so I thought it was a great tackle,” Mitchell said.
“The players are really well aware of the tackling and I think we’re seeing changes of technique, guys not trying to bring other people to ground deliberately.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan said McCluggage was “OK” and was able to chat in the rooms post-match.
“He’ll obviously miss our next game, but the main thing is he makes a good recovery,” Fagan said.
“I haven’t seen the replay of it so I wouldn’t want to comment on it.”
Meanwhile, Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli was cleared for his high bump on Port Adelaide’s Dan Houston.
In the second quarter of Friday night’s clash at Marvel Stadium, Bontempelli was advancing on Houston, who fumbled the ball, and collected him in the shoulder and head.
The star midfielder appeared to be attempting to pull out of the bump but still made contact and gave away a free kick.
But the MRO failed to even give an explanation of the incident in the daily report, with Bontempelli cleared to play in the Bulldogs’ next match against North Melbourne.
St Kilda face a decision on whether to appeal Dan Butler’s one-game ban for a dangerous tackle on Sydney’s Nick Blakey on Thursday night.
The forward is the latest player suspended under the crackdown.