THE AFL reached out to Hawthorn on Tuesday and conceded small forward Jack Ginnivan should have been paid at least a couple of free kicks for high contact during the Easter Monday clash against Geelong.

The League has also issued a warning to the Cats and their star forward Tom Hawkins after he was caught looking at a mobile phone during the long lightning delay at the MCG.

>> WATCH LAURA KANE ON HAWKINS, GINNIVAN & MORE BELOW

The 21-year-old Ginnivan didn't receive one free kick in the Hawks' 36-point loss at the MCG despite being caught high twice in the first half by Geelong pair Zach Guthrie and Max Holmes, as well as after half-time.

Ginnivan received 21 free kicks for high contact in 2022 when he kicked 40 goals as a rookie at Collingwood. That number dropped to just four last year after a directive from the AFL to not reward players who attempt to draw free kicks.

The Hawks' recruit has only been awarded one free kick across his first three appearances in brown and gold this year.

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell told reporters on Monday night that the club would contact the AFL after reviewing the vision if they felt Ginnivan was being unfairly treated.

But they didn't need to in the end. 

AFL executive general manager of football Laura Kane spoke to Hawthorn head of football Rob McCartney to inform the club the umpires missed some of the free kicks that should have been paid to Ginnivan.

"There was a lot of commentary. We review every incident, we are looking for MRO or umpiring coaching" Kane told Footy Feed Extra on Tuesday. 

"We've assessed all tackles or contests that involved Jack Ginnivan. It is fair to say that a couple of those weren't officiated correctly and we missed a few.

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"We've spoken to Hawthorn and reiterated as we did in 2022 to all clubs that we don't want players to lead with their head. What I want to be really clear on is we don't have a different set of rules for a player; we don't have a different set of rules for a club or a team; we officiate our games all the same way within the rules."

The AFL also contacted Geelong overnight and issued the Cats with a warning after Hawkins was spotted using a mobile phone in the rooms, but Kane said the incident was different to previous breaches that resulted in further sanctions.

Watch Footy Feed Extra above for Kane's full explanation about the Hawkins incident, the Jack Ginnivan situation and more