Western Bulldogs recruit James Harmes suspended for headbutting former teammate Steven May

Western Bulldogs recruit James Harmes has been banned for one match for headbutting Melbourne’s Steven May during Sunday’s match at the MCG.

The former teammates clashed early in the last quarter when Harmes was caught holding the ball by Jack Billings.

As May came over to let Harmes know about his mistake, the former Demon stood up and his head made contact with May’s face.

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May can be seen gesturing to the umpire, but the umpire took no further action on the day.

However, the match review officer assessed the incident as intentional conduct, low impact and high contact.

Harmes joined the Western Bulldogs at the end of last season after nine years at Melbourne.

His likely absence from Sunday’s match against Gold Coast opens the door for Caleb Daniel to be elevated to the starting 22 after he was surprisingly the starting substitute against Melbourne.

Veteran ball magnet Jack Macrae is another option, but coach Luke Beveridge hinted that he will likely need another week of match practice before earning a recall.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn captain James Sicily will challenge his one-match ban at the tribunal on Tuesday evening.

Sicily has been cited for kicking Bomber Andrew McGrath during the opening minutes of the Hawks’ 24-point loss on Saturday.

After Matt Guelfi kicked the first goal of the game, Sicily scuffled with several Essendon players and his foot made contact with McGrath.

The Hawks will likely lean on comments from McGrath in their defence with the star Bomber saying he barely felt it.

“After every incident our club doctor calls us to see if there are any medical ramifications or any soreness, my report to him was that there’s nothing — I’ve got no bruise, no nothing,” McGrath told SEN on Monday.

“Hopefully that stands up in the appeal, if there is one.

“It was pretty innocuous … I didn’t even really realise that he put his foot into the back of me, which suggests how severe the kick was. Not very at all.

“But they’re stamping that out of the game and we’ll see where that lands.”

– With AAP