COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says Geelong should be "bleeding" about the AFL Tribunal's decision to clear Ed and Charlie Curnow of their separate intentional umpire contact charges.

The Cats lost goalkicker Tom Hawkins to a one-game ban for umpire contact in round eight, in a similar incident to those that saw the Tribunal free the Curnow brothers to play this weekend.

The AFL has appealed the Tribunal's verdict on both counts in a hearing to be held on Thursday afternoon.

But Buckley said he felt for the Cats, who accepted the one-game ban last week only to see three players – including Gold Coast co-captain Steven May – cleared of intentional umpire contact this round.

WATCH Blues brothers on wrong side of law

"If I was Geelong I'd be bleeding … absolutely bleeding," he told SEN radio on Wednesday.

"Because Hawkins handled himself so well, I thought the club handled it well. You'd be scratching your head wondering, 'Why be so gracious when it's not actually supported or followed through?'

"Just make your mind up. Be clear."

WATCH: Hawkins makes contact with umpire

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Hawkins' missed the Cats' dour 21-point win over Magpies at the MCG. The Magpies face St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.  

Champion midfielder Greg Williams, who was hit with a nine-week ban for touching an umpire in 1997, this week called on umpires to "back off" out of players' space on the field.