HAWTHORN forward Jarryd Roughead faces a nervous weekend as he awaits the Match Review Panel's verdict of his head-high bump on Sydney Swan Ben McGlynn.
Little more than 24 hours after Melbourne midfielder Jack Viney successfully appealed his controversial two-game suspension for rough conduct, the bump looks set for another stint in the spotlight.
Roughead's bump on McGlynn in the third quarter left the diminutive Swan crumpled on the turf before leaving the field in the hands of club doctors. However, the tough-as-nails midfielder returned to the field shortly afterwards and played out the rest of the match without any problems.
The incident headlined a disappointing night for the defending premiers, who left the Harbour City with not only their gun forward under a cloud but a mounting injury toll following the 19-point loss.
Cyril Rioli limped from the field early in the third term after straining his left hamstring and was substituted out of the game immediately, while Josh Gibson needed treatment on a sore left shoulder.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson deflected questions about the Roughead incident after the match, referring instead to the observations of TV commentators.
"Apparently Tom Harley saw it. Surprise, surprise, that a Geelong player would try to put a Hawthorn guy in," Clarkson said.
"We will wait and see.
"I think Tom wants to be general manager of footy operations there next year, I think."
Meanwhile, Clarkson was matter-of-fact about Rioli's latest setback, which comes after he missed almost two months of footy in 2013 due to another hamstring injury.
"He has just got to rehab it and get back again," Clarkson said.
The news was better for Gibson, whom Clarkson said had suffered a corked shoulder but would be OK to face Port Adelaide in round 10 after Hawthorn's bye.
The Hawks, who were already without Brian Lake (calf), Sam Mitchell (hamstring) and Brad Sewell (hamstring), decided to leave Luke Hodge out of the side in a late change due to hamstring tightness.
Clarkson said while Hodge could have played, the club rested him as precautionary move, given the club had been on six-day breaks for the past few weeks.
"He has had a heavy load," Clarkson said.
"We decided to not take a risk with him, because we have had situations where in past years if he ended up being a little bit sore like that sometimes it has ended up being a soft-tissue injury."
Despite the Hawks' cavalcade of injuries, Clarkson refused to use his undermanned squad as an excuse for the loss.
"We are capable of beating this side, we just need to play somewhere near our best," he said.
