Pinching Hawthorn skipper sent directly to tribunal

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton is in double trouble after being referred directly to the AFL Tribunal, following a pinching controversy on Friday night.

Stratton's questionable tactics left Orazio Fantasia with bruising on his arms from pinches and sparked a wave of criticism within the AFL world.

Aside from the pinching, however, the Hawks skipper will also have to answer to a charge of stomping on Bomber Shaun McKernan during the final quarter of Friday night's 14.12 (96) to 11.11 (77) loss.

Stratton was also fined $1000 after a rude gesture to the crowd.

The Hawks defender, notorious for getting under the skin of his opponents, spent the evening pinching his rival Fantasia.

A close-up of Fantasia’s left arm showed Stratton’s childish tactics had left several welts on his upper arm.

Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley was fined $1200 six years ago for pinching North Melbourne great Brent Harvey.

"I have a couple of bruises on the arm - Stratts loves to pinch and he's a really good defender, so to come back and play on him, I knew I was in for a tough night," Fantasia told Channel 7.

"You can't do anything. He's a really good defender, he has all the tricks in the book.

"Every time I play on him, I know it's a tough one."

Fantasia's teammate Cale Hooker was also unimpressed with the tactic.

"It comes as a surprise, usually the good players don't have to get involved in that stuff and Ben Stratton is a pretty good player," Hooker told 3AW.

After Stratton’s pinching and Fantasia’s bruises were caught by Channel 7’s cameras, fans took a dim view of the Hawks skipper.

Bombers get the last laugh

Essendon put a dagger through Hawthorn's season after the crucial 19-point win over their arch-rivals.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson had called this a cut-throat game and the loss leaves them two wins adrift of the top eight.

Essendon broke out to a 38-point lead in the last quarter before the Hawks hit back with three goals.

The margin was only three goals with five minutes left, but the Bombers hung on for a win that keeps them in the finals hunt with a 6-6 record.

Bombers star Jake Stringer, who returned from injury on Friday night, was sidelined for much of the second half with a lower-leg injury.

Essendon midfielder Zach Merrett was best afield with 28 possessions and a goal.

with AAP