Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol has overturned his three-week suspension for his tackle on Geelong star Tom Stewart that left the Cat concussed.
The tackle happened during Geelong's 30-point win against Hawthorn in the preliminary final but was overturned after an appeal by the Hawks with Chol now free to play round 1 next year.
The incident was originally graded as 'careless conduct', 'severe impact', and 'high conduct', which resulted in a three-match ban.
The tribunal found that Hawk Sam Butler's influence on the tackle from Chol was significant and therefore was one of the main reasons the original three week ban was overturned.
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The Hawks argued that the tackle was different from North Melbourne's Paul Curtis, who received a three-match ban earlier this year and lost his appeal to overturn the decision.
Mabior Chol has received a three-match suspension for this incident involving Tom Stewart.
— AFL (@AFL) September 20, 2025
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The reasons the tribunal supported the difference between the two tackles from Chol and Curtis were based on several different factors.
"The Hawks relied on certain points of difference from the Curtis tackle. There is force in that submission."
"There was no third player involved in the Curtis tackle, no tangle of legs, no part of either arm free. The time available to Curtis to sum up the situation prior to affecting the tackle was considerably longer than that available to Chol.
"The circumstances of Curtis’ tackle did not change mid-tackle. The circumstances of Chol’s tackle did."
The Hawks said Chol feels sorry for Stewart, considering that he will miss a grand final due the outcome of the tackle.
Fellow Hawk Jack Ginnivan was also fined $10,000, $6,250 with an early guilty plea, in the same game for tripping Geelong's Jack Bowes.