A FIFTH incident involving player-umpire interaction is likely to be examined by the Match Review Officer on Monday, after West Coast's Willie Rioli tapped umpire Ray Chamberlain on the hip in Sunday's clash with Hawthorn.
Rioli had just given away a 50m penalty to Blake Hardwick when he dropped his knees into the Hawk as he lay prone following a marking attempt late in the first quarter.
EAGLES EDGE HAWKS Full match coverage and stats
The Eagle knew he'd infringed straight away and put his hand up to acknowledge his mistake as Chamberlain blew the whistle.
As the players turned to move, Rioli gave the veteran umpire a tap on the hip as he ran past.
Chamberlain didn't react to the contact, which appeared to be friendly but intentional.
The incident resulted in the Hawks' third goal.
ANOTHER UMP TOUCH Five talking points from Hawks v Eagles
Eagles coach Adam Simpson said he didn't see the incident, but cautioned against too harsh a penalty for players who inadvertently make contact with the umpires.
"We want to respect the umpires and we want make sure we acknowledge that touching them is no-go. But there's a human part of it as well," the Eagles coach said.
"I hope it doesn't go any further than that, but in the environment right now, it's probably not the right thing to do. But having said that, they're human and we want to try to ensure we engage these umps on a positive note. How's that for a bit of a campaign for the week?"
EAGLES, DEES ON FIRE Eight things we learned from R10
It is the fifth player-umpire contact since round four, when Geelong's Tom Hawkins was suspended for one match after pleading guilty to intentional contact.
Since then, there has been much controversy surrounding what is and isn't acceptable, with Gold Coast's Steven May and Carlton brothers Ed and Charlie Curnow escaping suspension for similar actions in round eight.
May was fined $1000 for "accidental" contact.
The Curnow brothers later fronted an AFL-instigated appeal and Ed was found guilty of the "lower end" of intentional contact, while Charlie's $1000 fine was upheld for "careless" contact.
Ed Curnow was suspended for one week and missed the Blues' round nine loss to Melbourne.