‘A Significant Oversight’: AFL Acknowledges Carlton ‘Should Have’ Received 50m Penalty Following Hawthorn Interchange Error

The AFL has acknowledged that Hawthorn should have faced a harsher penalty for an interchange error during their 20-point win against Carlton on Thursday.

Just before the half-time break, the Hawks were cautioned with a 6-6-6 warning after having 19 players on the field before a centre bounce.

After Carlton’s Adam Cerra scored, the Hawks realised their mistake, prompting winger Harry Morrison to dash off the field back to the bench to correct it.

This miscommunication didn’t escape attention, as Carlton was granted a free kick.

The on-field sanction did not align with a “major breach,” but the AFL has since clarified that a more severe penalty was warranted.

“Hawthorn had 19 players on the field while the team was setting up for the bounce,” stated an AFL spokesperson.

“Once this was realised, the AFL interchange official alerted Hawthorn, who took measures to amend the situation before play resumed.

“Following a review of the match, the AFL believes the interchange official should have regarded this as a major breach, informed the umpires, and awarded Carlton a free kick along with a 50m penalty from the centre.”

The league’s statement confirmed that Hawthorn had received a warning regarding their procedures for managing player rotations.

Hawthorn’s coach, Sam Mitchell, stressed that the incident stemmed from “miscommunication.”

“The bench indicated that someone had come off but failed to notice that no one had come on, so he ran back out,” Mitchell explained during his press conference.

“It was purely a miscommunication that resulted in us receiving a 6-6-6 warning, and subsequently another one.

“We must improve in this area – we need to be more organised – as the ripple effects of errors like this can be quite disruptive.”

“We hope this situation won’t repeat itself.”

The Hawks are set to take on the GWS Giants at UTAS Stadium on Saturday, March 29.