Hawk baffled by slide report

Luke Hodge slides in to Harry O'Brien's legs and umpires award the Hawks skipper a free kick, and report O'Brien.

Harry O, Brien collides with Luke Hodge, Picture: Ludbey Wayne

HAWTHORN midfielder Jordan Lewis says he is mystified by the sliding rule and Harry O'Brien's report yesterday.

O'Brien was reported for rough conduct on Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge in the second quarter when popular consensus suggested the Collingwood defender should have received a free kick.

A smothered kick landed in between O'Brien and Hodge on the members wing and each player, coming from several metres away from each other, charged at the footy.

O'Brien went low, Hodge slid in head first and got to the ball a fraction of a second before his opponent.

Hodge's head crashed in to O'Brien's shin and O'Brien went flying.

"The way it's been explained to us is, if you slide in and contact someone front on in the legs, it is a free kick to the guy who is standing over the ball," Lewis said today.

"That's what we've been told.

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"It will be good to see the outcome today, because it will give us more clarification on what the rule actually is.

"The umpires may have made a mistake, we don't know," he told the AFL website.

"From what we've been told, we can only try and keep our feet and not slide in as much, and not put ourselves in the position to give away a free kick."

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See the incident in the video player above

The Twittersphere went into meltdown after the incident, with calls for umpire Heath Ryan to be demoted next week.

Collingwood v Hawthorn, MCG, Harry O, Brien colides with Luke Hodge, Picture: Ludbey Wayne Source:

Essendon's Jason Winderlich voiced player concerns when he tweeted soon after: "The Hodge and Harry O contest has confused me even more?!!''.

While @getemgaz encapsulated the mood of the fans when he tweeted: "he (O'Brien) should be reported, but also get a free kick. (It's) Encouraging people to run into someone who puts their head over the ball''.

Whether these views are right or wrong in the eyes of AFL officials they prove, if nothing else, that no one knows for sure what is going on.

It came after a first quarter incident yesterday in which Magpie Jamie Elliott was awarded a free kick after Ben Stratton slid in to a contest.

But Elliott was the process of kicking the ball off the ground and in seasons past he probably would have given away the free kick.

Live HQ: Collingwood v Hawthorn

What did you think of the decision? Watch the replay in the video player above and tweet us @SuperFooty, or leave a comment below.
 

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