Hawthorn says the arrest of Dylan Moore and Connor Macdonald while the players were holidaying in the US was a momentary lapse rather than a reflection of their true character.<\/p>\n
Moore and Macdonald spent a night behind bars in Phoenix, Arizona, during the off-season for trespassing.<\/p>\n
The pair have been punished by the club but still have an impending court date after Moore climbed onto a scissor lift while intoxicated.<\/p>\n
Hawthorn cited the incident being \u201ca legal matter at the time\u201d for why it was held until Tuesday night despite it taking place in November.<\/p>\n
Moore was stripped of his vice-captaincy and underwent an education program as well as community service.<\/p>\n
Hawthorn head of football Rob McCartney fronted the media before coach Sam Mitchell on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
McCartney defended Moore and Macdonald, saying they were \u201coutstanding citizens\u201d despite the overseas misdemeanour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always knew this had the ability to be a story and I think we managed that extremely well throughout the process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDylan spoke yesterday and he said how bitterly disappointed he was in his behaviour in that moment.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2026 those two boys in particular have been outstanding citizens over the journey of their time at our club and even before our club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe obviously needed to deal with the enormity of it in the initial instance but then we had to make sure there was significant wellbeing and care being put around them.\u201d
McCartney said the pair had been \u201cextremely remorseful right from day one\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey showed a willingness to accept the behaviour they had shown would come with consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they showed a willingness to re-educate and I don\u2019t think we can ask for much more post the event.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCartney said Moore understood why Hawthorn needed to make a leadership change.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a collective conversation, he knows that isn\u2019t the behaviour that aligns with a leader who has the title of vice-captain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a conversation we had collectively, it was an easy decision to make in the end based on the behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCartney said the financial sanctions, Moore\u2019s loss of his leadership, community service and re-education was \u201cabsolutely fair and reasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell echoed McCartney in his support for Moore and Macdonald.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very disappointed on first hearing about it but it was a few months ago now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018They have done everything you\u2019d expect of them since then and so there\u2019s a big part of us that have moved on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand they made some really poor decisions, we heard about it when they were still there, still in the middle of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some conversations behind closed doors about our expectations and standards of behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, to their credit, every moment before and every moment since they\u2019ve acted in a way you\u2019d hope they would as representatives of this football club, the game itself, their own families.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall they\u2019re really good young lads, the decisions you make will dictate the life you lead and this is a little hard patch for their lives because of some of the decisions they made.\u201d<\/p>\n