Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol will likely see his wallet take a hit, following a big tackle on Nick Blakey on Thursday night.

As the Swans attempted to transition the ball from deep in their own defensive 50, the athletic big man tackled Blakey from behind with considerable force, and won a free kick for holding the ball in the process.

A glance at the AFL's matrix for such incidents reveals that Chol is likely to be cited for the tackle, and a grading of careless conduct with medium impact and bodily contact usually carries with it a purely financial sanction.

Blakey's head does make contact with the ground, but appears to initiate that contact himself, in an effort to have the free kick awarded in his favour, rather than Chol's.

Chol's tackling action has come under fire before, with fans on social media quick to point out the similarities between last night's tackle, and the one that cost Tom Stewart his place in Geelong's 2025 Grand Final side.

Chol concussed Stewart in eerily similar circumstances in last year's preliminary final, and was initially handed a three-match ban, that was eventually overturned after a 100-minute tribunal hearing. Hawthorn's representation successfully argued the tackle was "not unreasonable" and a "football action".

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