Brisbane has confirmed that the AFL Integrity Unit is investigating a number of incidents following the heated conclusion to the Lions’ AFLW finals victory over Hawthorn at Princes Park on Sunday.
Brisbane confirmed to ABC Sport it was aware the AFL was looking into the matter, but would leave it with the integrity unit.
Brisbane won the contest 6.2 (38) to 4.8 (32) in a thriller, after fighting back from an 11-point second-quarter deficit.
However, tempers flared after the final siren, with both sets of players coming together in a push-and-shove.
Tilly Lucas-Rodd was at the centre of the melee, along with Laura Elliott and Aine McDonagh, before they were pulled away by Dakota Davidson and Charlotte Mullins.
As the umpires attempted to regain control, Lucas-Rodd went back for more, pushing Mullins in the back.
Hawks coach Daniel Webster suggested his players had reacted to being targeted by Lions players.
“I’m not sure what was said, but generally when there’s a reaction like what our girls had, that generally means something might have been there, but I don’t know,” Webster told Channel 7.
Lions coach Craig Starcevich said the fiery scenes were “not the way you want to finish a game”, but stressed he hadn’t seen much of the incident.
The game had been full-blooded throughout, with Belle Dawes’s front-on contact on Hawk Ainslie Kemp early in the second quarter earning her a one-match ban for charging.
Dawes had attempted to pull out of a tackle but crashed straight into Kemp, who required treatment, but jogged to the bench before passing her concussion assessment.
Starcevich said he didn’t get a good look at the incident, while Webster backed Dawes.
“It was hard to see with the camera angle, but it didn’t look like much in it,” Webster said.
“Belle Dawes is a fair player and so I just thought she was going for the footy. She left the ground, but it just didn’t look like much to me.”
Emily Bates was also sanctioned for rough conduct in the fourth quarter on Catherine Svarc, for which she can accept a $350 fine for an early guilty plea.
