Hawk Shiels cleared after stray AFL elbow

Jack Frost will need to wait until round two to make his full AFL debut for Brisbane but Liam Shiels is free to play in Hawthorn’s opening round blockbuster with Essendon despite elbowing an opponent in the head.

The match review panel has proposed just one ban from first week of the pre-season competition – a one-week suspension to Frost.

The hard-headed ex-Collingwood defender sling-tackled Gold Coast’s Brandon Matera over the boundary line in their meeting on Sunday.

The crude act sparked a mini-melee between the two rivals, and was seen as “careless conduct with medium impact to the head” by officials.

Should he accept the ban, he will miss playing against the Suns in their season opener but be back to face Essendon in round two.

Shiels might count himself lucky.

The newly-appointed Hawthorn vice-captain struck Geelong’s Darcy Lang in the back of the head during their clash in Launceston on Friday night.

Shiels made late contact with the young Cat’s back and head but the act was seen as low impact, clearing him from the threat of suspension.

He can accept a $1000 fine with an early plea.

So can fellow Hawk Kade Stewart (rough conduct), veteran West Coast defender Will Schofield (rough conduct) and North Melbourne forward Jarrad Waite (kneeing) for minor offences from their JLT Community Series matches.

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