HAWTHORN ruckman Simon Taylor is free to play in this Friday’s match against Essendon after the AFL tribunal cleared him of a charge of reckless conduct.

Taylor was initially offered a two-match suspension for rough conduct against Carlton’s Setanta O’hAilpin last Saturday. He chose to contest the ban and risked a three-week suspension if he was found guilty.

AFL legal counsel Jeff Gleeson said O’hAilpin was not actively involved in the play at the time of the hit.

But Hawthorn player advocate Chris Townshend successfully argued that Taylor’s bump on O’hAilpin was not forceful enough to be considered rough and that the Carlton big man had fallen to the ground because he was not expecting the hit.

Taylor has already served time on the sidelines this season on a rough conduct charge after he was suspended for two weeks for kneeing Geelong’s Joel Selwood.

Speaking after the not guilty verdict, Hawthorn’s football manager Mark Evans said Taylor did not use excessive force.

“We wanted to run a case in this one because we felt there are a lot of blocks in the game and that this was just an ordinary part of a player blocking another player and not with excessive force and the tribunal saw it that way too,” Evans said.

Taylor said he was just trying to impede O’hAilpin’s run and never intended to cause physical harm.

“You are always accountable for your opponent and I was trying to get on the defensive side of him and stop him getting involved in play up the field,” Taylor said.

“Whenever there is a turnover you try to look for your direct opponent and try to make sure he doesn’t get forward of the ball and kick a goal on you.”