HAWTHORN Premiership pair Brian Lake and Cyril Rioli will start their 2014 seasons late after accepting penalties from the Match Review Panel on Wednesday.

Lake won't play until Round 4 after accepting a three-match ban for striking Fremantle's Michael Walters in the thrid term of the Grand Final.

The Norm Smith medallist faced a four-week break after double loading for the Grand Final under AFL rules, which was reduced to three with an early plea.

Rioli meanwhile will return in Round 2 after accepting one match for rough conduct.

The dynamo forward would have escaped with a reprimand in the regular season but the proposed penalty was increased to two matches down to one with an early plea because it occurred in the Grand Final.