HAWTHORN will challenge the one-game ban handed to midfielder Jai Newcombe, while West Coast recruit Harry Schoenberg has also been hit with a one-game suspension following the weekend's AAMI Community Series matches.
Newcombe is set to miss his side's Opening Round clash with Greater Western Sydney unless the Hawks can successfully challenge the one-match ban handed to their new co-captain for rough conduct.
Newcombe drove Western Bulldogs star Ed Richards' head into the ground in the third quarter of their match on Friday night.
Richards had one arm pinned by Newcombe but wasn't seriously hurt in the incident, getting up to take his kick and playing out the rest of the game.
The Match Review Officer graded the incident as careless, medium impact and high contact, leading to the one-game suspension.
However, Hawthorn confirmed it will challenge the ban at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.
Despite the suspension, Newcombe will remain eligible for the Brownlow Medal this year as the ban came in a pre-season game, not a home and away match.
The possible loss of Newcombe is a big blow for the Hawks, who are already without injured star Will Day (shoulder) and young midfielder Cam Mackenzie, who suffered a concussion in the loss to the Bulldogs.
Schoenberg, meanwhile, was charged with striking Port Adelaide's Logan Evans in the fourth quarter of Sunday's AAMI Community Series match.
The Match Review Officer graded the incident as intentional, medium impact and body contact, leading to the one-game ban.
Schoenberg is the first victim of a new Match Review change for 2026, where strikes are more likely to be graded medium impact - and result in a one-week ban - than in previous years.
"It will be graded, usually, as medium, at a minimum. 'Usually' means more than 50 per cent. That's a significant change ... that will result in a week suspension," MRO Michael Christian told AFL.com.au last week.
"A strike is defined as a blow delivered with force; there's nothing about a clenched fist in there. As long as the blow is delivered with force, it doesn't matter if it's a clenched fist or a palm of the hand."