Hawthorn co-captain Jai Newcombe will be available for selection on Saturday against GWS after successfully overturning his one-match suspension at the Tribunal.
Newcombe was offered a week off after a dangerous tackle on Western Bulldogs midfielder Ed Richards was picked up by the Match Review Officer (MRO).
The MRO initially graded the incident as medium impact, careless conduct and high contact.
Hawthorn's Jai Newcombe has received a one-match ban for rough conduct after this incident involving Ed Richards.
More details: https://t.co/LwiMP4Vss9 pic.twitter.com/KX6RgtArl8
— AFL (@AFL) March 2, 2026
The level of impact was dropped from medium to low, resulting in a fine.
Hawthorn put forward that Newcombe attempted to control Richards down to the ground in a bid to reduce the force. They also said that the Bulldog could've released the football, using that arm to protect himself.
The AFL argued that Richards wasn't expected to drop the ball to protect himself, and that the onus is on the tackler.
"While Richards' head clearly hits the ground and bounces slightly, there is no injury and absolutely no expression of pain," Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson KC said.
He simply stood up, took his kick, and played on.
"The majority of the force goes through Richards' hip, and then shoulder, before his head hits the ground, leading us to conclude that the potential for injury was not such as to warrant a medium impact grading."
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