Hawthorn AFL grand final hero Brian Lake will start next season three games late and Cyril Rioli will sit out the opening round after the pair accepted suspensions.

Lake, who won the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in Saturday’s title win over Fremantle, was cited for intentionally elbowing the face of Docker forward Michael Walters.

He would have risked a four-match penalty had he challenged the ban.

Rioli was suspended for a chicken wing tackle on Fremantle’s Michael Barlow.

Both players had their penalty points doubled because the offences occurred in a grand final.

They will join Fremantle’s Nick Suban in having delayed starts to next season.

Suban on Tuesday night was banned for one game for making unreasonable contact to the face of Hawk star Sam Mitchell.

The Hawthorn pair were given an extra day to decide whether to challenge their penalties, but decided against it.