GEELONG coach Chris Scott admits he was "shocked" when he was made aware of forward Tom Hawkins' striking charge, as the club considers fighting the ban at the Tribunal.
Hawkins was on Monday handed a one-game suspension from the Match Review Panel for striking GWS co-captain Phil Davis in Saturday's 10-point win at Simonds Stadium.
The 27-year-old's left-handed cuff early in the final quarter caught Davis on the chin and neck, and was graded as intentional conduct with low impact to the head.
Scott said he was bewildered by the MRP's findings, but was not in a position to reveal whether the club would accept the ban – meaning Hawkins would be unavailable for Saturday night's clash against North Melbourne – or risk a two-match suspension by challenging the decision.
"The most I can say is that it took me by surprise," Scott told Fox Footy on Monday night.
"I'd seen the incident and I didn't really give it a second thought. I only got the news a couple of hours ago and it shocked me.
"It is a big, big risk to take something like this to the Tribunal; we play the Bulldogs in two weeks at Etihad (and) it'll be a big risk to lose him for that as well."
Geelong has until 11am Tuesday to accept or challenge the MRP's sanction.
Hawkins is his team's leading goalkicker this season with 24 majors.
Meanwhile, Scott said forward Mitch Clark would not be rushed back into the senior squad despite his encouraging three-goal return in the VFL on Sunday.
The Cats' coach added Clark's comeback against Sandringham at Simonds Stadium "went well relative to expectations".
"He's no chance to play (at AFL level) for the next three weeks," Scott said.
"We play three (games) then have a bye, which will give him a really nice preparation and give him a chance to be available for selection after that."
Before Sunday's VFL appearance, Clark had not played at any level since round nine last year and battled persistent calf setbacks over the past 12 months.
He stepped away from football in 2014 due to mental health issues.
