Hawthorn star Sam Mitchell says Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis knew immediately that they'd let their teammates down with their undisciplined acts in Saturday night's win against North Melbourne.
The veteran duo face an anxious wait for the AFL match review panel's assessment of incidents that occurred in a fiery opening term at Etihad Stadium.
Hodge will come under scrutiny after he caught Andrew Swallow in the jaw with a swinging left forearm, while Lewis was reported on the spot when he felled Todd Goldstein with a round-arm coat-hanger to the head just minutes later.
"Those two guys knew exactly ... that they'd let everyone down," Mitchell told 3AW.
"And they were the first ones to put their hands up and just say, 'sorry, boys, it won't happen again'.
"We were probably a little bit undisciplined throughout the night - we gave away a lot of free kicks."
Swallow returned to the field after having his jaw checked by medical staff, but was subbed out of the game in the third quarter after he suffered another blow to the head in a Ben Stratton tackle.
"It was a bit of a brain fade, but we'll see what happens," Hodge told Channel Seven after the match.
"If anything comes of it, whatever happens, I'll speak (about it) post that."
Lewis said he had made accidental contact with Goldstein's head in a misguided attempt to spoil.
Jack Gunston, who starred with four goals and 13 marks, echoed Mitchell's sentiments when he appeared on The Sunday Footy Show on Channel Nine.
"Obviously I think at the time it was a bit disappointing," Gunston said. "It probably gave (the Kangaroos) a bit of momentum and obviously resulted in 50m penalties and I think they scored two goals from them both.
"So it was obviously two disappointing acts from two leaders of our footy club and they promised at quarter-time it wouldn't happen again. To their credit they bounced back and both had pretty good games."
The MRP will also scrutinise Gold Coast defender Steven May's bump on Brisbane's Tom Rockliff that resulted in the Lions' skipper being hospitalised with a concussion.
"At the end of the day, he's in hospital getting his face looked at ... I can't comment any further than that, that's just the facts," Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch said.
"I wouldn't mind some of our players playing the way Steven May played, to be honest.
"At least he actually cared and did something about their previous performances. Our blokes didn't."
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