Hawthorn tall Mabior Chol has been suspended for three matches over the tackle which left Tom Stewart concussed and ruled out of next week's grand final.
Stewart was taken from the field in the first quarter of the Cats' 30-point preliminary final win, having come off second best following a Chol tackle.
With both his arms pinned in the tackle, the Geelong defender's head hit the ground, while he was also nursing an arm issue on his way to the bench.
MORE: How Stewart's concussion could re-shape AFL future
Tom Stewart has come from the ground following this contest.#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/rwmGkHqk4u
— AFL (@AFL) September 19, 2025
Stewart subsequently failed a head injury assessment, automatically ruling him out for 12 days, leaving the Cats scrambling to replace a key cog in their backline.
Chol received the same suspension North Melbourne forward Paul Curtis was hit with earlier in the year for a similar tackle on Port Adelaide's Josh Sinn.
Curtis and the Roos took that one to the tribunal but were unsuccessful in having it overturned.
At this stage, Chol will miss the first three matches of 2026.
His Hawks teammate Jack Ginnivan was the only other player charged from the match - he's looking at a $6,250 fine if he takes the early guilty plea for a trip on Jack Bowes, his third such offence.
Stewart's concussion and time off is tipped to have significant ramifications for the structure of the AFL finals series going forward.
Currently, teams have a week off before the finals begin, a move which hasn't been particularly popular.
Last week, the AFL's football operations boss Greg Swann made some prophetic comments which point towards a change in the future.
“It’s more to do with somebody getting concussed [in the preliminary final] and not being able to play [in the Grand Final]," he said.
“That’s why we think that bye would be better off before the Grand Final.”