Hawk straight to tribunal

HAWTHORN backman Daniel Howe will face the AFL tribunal over a tripping incident which left Carlton’s Zac Fisher with a broken leg.

Howe has also been slapped with a two-game suspension for striking Blues midfielder Patrick Cripps during Sunday’s game at Etihad Stadium. The case involving Fisher was classified as careless conduct with severe impact and did not allow for an early-guilty plea.

Fisher limped from the ground following the firstquarter incident and the Blues yesterday confirmed he had suffered a crack in his left fibula. Howe earlier belted Cripps, who went to ground but played out the remainder of the game.

AFL match review officer Michael Christian said the potential for more serious dam- age had influenced his decision to classify the incident as medium, rather than low impact.

Brisbane’s Tom Cutler also faces a two-game ban after being charged with rough conduct against Adelaide’s Lachlan Murphy.

Geelong star Tom Hawkins was cleared for his open-handed push on Demon Bailey Fritsch, while Docker Brandon Matera also escaped sanction with his contact with Bomber Zach Merrett after Christian determined that Matera “did not elect to bump and his actions were not a decision to bump or make forceful contact from front-on”.

Christian also ruled that West Coast skipper Shannon Hurn had no case to answer for a collision which knocked out Western Bulldogs midfielder Mitch Honeychurch during Sunday’s game at Optus Stadium.

Honeychurch was stretchered off and spent the night in hospital but avoided serious structural damage to his neck.

Hurn braced for impact but was stationary when Honeychurch crashed into his hip while trying to gather the ball, and Christian found that Hurn could not have realistically approached the contest in any other way. Western Bulldogs duo Jack Macrae and Josh Dunkley copped fines of $2000 and $1000 respectively.

Macrae was charged with striking West Coast’s Luke Shuey and Dunkley with making careless umpire contact.

Hawthorn’s Ricky Henderson and Brisbane pair Daniel McStay and Jake Barrett can all accept $2000 sanctions with an early plea.