HAWTHORN midfielder Jordan Lewis knows he faces a nervous wait from the Match Review Panel after his strike on North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein.
Lewis was reported after collecting Goldstein with a swinging arm to the face during Saturday night’s 60-point win over the Kangaroos at Etihad Stadium.
Speaking to Crocmedia on Sunday afternoon, the 29-year-old was resigned to the fact he was now at the mercy of the MRP.
"I think the Tribunal ... judge it by what they see, so it’s hard for me to try and persuade them either way," Lewis said.
"They’ve got the vision, so whatever they decide you’ve got to cop.
"It’s hard to comment on an incident like that when it’s under report, so for me to say anything now would be to just either dig myself a bigger hole or get myself out of it, so I think it’s best if we just leave it to the Tribunal."
Lewis’ report followed another strike by Hawks skipper Luke Hodge, whose left forearm caught Andrew Swallow in the jaw and left the Kangaroos ball winner needing to be helped from the ground.
While Hodge was not placed on report on Saturday night, he and teammate Taylor Duryea - who struck Swallow in the stomach - will join Lewis in awaiting the MRP’s findings.
It leaves the reigning premiers with the prospect of making the trip to face Greater Western Sydney next Saturday without their captain and one of their vice-captains.
Hodge and Swallow shook hands after the Hawks' win and spoke briefly about their confrontation.
Hodge explained why he approached the Roos captain post-match.
"He (Swallow) was disappointed with what happened and so was I," Hodge told Channel Seven on Sunday.
"You shake the opposition's hand after every game and (I) just wanted to let him know what my thought process was.
"It was more going up just to see he was all right and he copped a few other hits throughout the game after that, so that was the reason (for) going up and chatting to him."
After Saturday night’s 10-goal win, veteran Hawk Sam Mitchell told 3AW Lewis and Hodge had "let everyone down. They were the first ones to put their hands up and say 'sorry boys, it won't happen again’."
Lewis said there was some merit in Mitchell’s comments.
"I think there is certainly an element of that, but as leaders of the football club you want to set an example for the rest of the playing group and I think 'Hodgey' and I have done that for three or four years now without being reported,” Lewis said.
"We’ve turned the table in that sense but obviously one instance brings up a lot of the other things we’ve done in our careers which isn’t a good look."
While admitting the incidents in question crossed the line, Lewis defended his side’s hardline approach on Saturday night.
"We never go into a game saying ‘I’m going to get reported’ - that’s just not the case," Lewis said.
"It was just one of those games where it was hot early, it just happened that way. It was unfortunate that two of our leaders of our football club were put in that situation and it’s not a great look for the rest of the group ... so it’s something we’ve got to move on from."
