Hawthorn star Josh Gibson says several Fremantle supporters crossed the line with their animated exchanges with players near the boundary during Friday night's preliminary final.
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Gibson said the players normally had no problem with the crowd's behaviour at Domain Stadium, but separate incidents involving Hawks Isaac Smith and Luke Breust went beyond what they considered to be acceptable player-crowd interaction.
A Dockers supporter raised his arm at Smith as the midfielder was chasing down a ball towards the boundary line in one ugly incident, while another reached out and touched Breust – albeit while holding a rubber novelty "anchor" - after the small forward was slung back-first into the fence in another incident.
Another fan then leant over the fence and hurled abuse at Breust as he was recovering from the collision with the fence right near the crowd.
"I saw those incidents after the game, and we don't want that," Gibson said on Channel Seven's AFL Game Day on Sunday.
"You love playing there – it's a hostile environment and you know the fans are really going to get behind them when they are kicking goals and we know that's part of football," he said.
"But you don't want to see people leaning over the fence and touching the players."
Crowd behaviour was a major storyline that emerged from Friday night's blockbuster, with AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan forced to address an ugly incident, captured on video, of a man wearing a Fremantle jumper allegedly striking a female patron in the face with his right hand.
A 24-year-old man from Joondanna was arrested over the incident. He's been charged with common assault, obstructing a police officer, and disorderly behaviour in a public place.
The antics of fans at matches at Domain Stadium also created headlines earlier in the season after the booing of Sydney champion Adam Goodes ignited a national controversy.
