Bartel hits out at ‘Hawk’

ALL blame for Tom Hawkins’s suspension for a jumper punch should rest with the player, says match review panel member Jimmy Bartel.

The MRP has been batting off claims of inconsistency in the AFL’s crackdown on jumper punches since Hawkins became the first high-profile player to cop a one-match ban. The forward accepted the suspension for punching Adelaide’s Matt Crouch.

Bartel said former team- mate Hawkins put himself in the position to be suspended by collecting Crouch high.

“People need someone to blame and every Monday afternoon they blame the MRP and they get their frustration out,” he said yesterday.

“You could maybe blame your players for putting themselves up in front of the MRP.

“He [Hawkins] just needs to get it out of his game. He’s such a valuable part of the Geelong side. But in the situation [the MRP reviewed] yesterday, he pretty much asserted himself on the Crouch boy . . . but he got him high.”

Hawkins’s punch came less than a fortnight after the AFL flagged its intention to crack down on jumper punching after Richmond captain Trent Cotchin escaped with a fine for his blow to Docker Lachie Neale’s face.

But in a subsequent game, Sydney’s Zak Jones was also fined rather than banned for a punch to the upper body of Hawthorn’s Luke Breust.

“People keep using the Zak Jones example,” Bartel said.

“The difference between Zak Jones and Tom Hawkins: Zak Jones hit Luke Breust in the body, Hawkins hit Crouch in the neck, chin, wherever you want to put it. It’s still above the shoulders, still high.”

The Cats did not challenge the ban despite coach Chris Scott saying he believed the contact amounted to a push to the throat rather than a punch.

The Cats have the bye this weekend with Hawkins set to miss the Round 13 clash against West Coast at Domain Stadium.