SO ANGUS Monfries has admitted he took a dive, and Hawthorn fans are outraged.

"I think Jordan Lewis was really stiff to get the weeks he did," Monfries declared on Thursday morning of the round 14 head-butt by Lewis that saw the Hawk suspended for two weeks.

"I definitely took a dive. It was in front of goal and I was trying to get a goal."

That's cold comfort for Lewis, who has already served his fortnight on the sidelines and can never get those games back.

But good on Monfries for at least being honest enough to admit it.

Footballers are well-drilled to trot out the team line at press conferences, so to hear a brutal self-assessment like Monfries' is certainly refreshing, especially on a subject such as this one.

This sort of label sticks - just ask Matthew Lloyd.

Monfries had probably figured out he'd already started to earn himself a bit of a reputation.

Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade confirmed as much this morning when, without being told what Monfries had said a short time earlier, he described the Bomber as "the best (at diving) in the competition".

By confessing, Monfries has declared his desire to restore his tarnished name.

What's important now is that he follows his own advice closely.

"It's something I need to address," were the 24 year-old's final words on the matter.

If he does, his career is still young enough to be remembered for something other than being a leading participant in this blight on the game.

He's got a lot of work to do before that can happen though, particularly in the eyes of those angry Twitter-brandishing Hawks supporters.

"Lewis got two weeks, Monfries should be given two as well," tweeted one.

That won't happen - the AFL has already assured us of that today - and nor should it.

That Monfries carried on a little more than the contact warranted was hardly a secret before his confession.

The entire crux of Hawthorn's tribunal defence of its premiership-winning midfielder was that Monfries staged.

Lewis' advocate, Chris Townshend SC, put forth that argument in colourful terms.

"On a level of force it wouldn't make a grandma blush, but it might make her giggle in terms of the reaction of the player," Townshend told the hearing.

The AFL had the video evidence; it didn't deem Monfries' dive to be reportable at the time, and it rightly won't renege on that stance now.

Nobody likes a knee-jerk reaction.

The best Hawks supporters and footy fans can hope for is that Monfries cleans up his act before a similar effort in the future contributes to someone missing a final.

They might also hope that Lewis is smart enough to keep his head to himself from here on in.