THE AFL has warned clubs not to comment on potential Match Review Panel or Tribunal matters in a way that might affect the case in the wake of the Brian Lake-Drew Petrie hearing.



The AFL wrote to all clubs to reiterate that it was important to be cautious when asked about incidents that the MRP might assess.



But the chances of the whole process being expedited so hearings can be held on Sunday nights - as suggested by Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson - appear remote because of the tricky logistics.



AFL football operations boss Mark Evans told AFL.com.au that he reminded clubs of what was expected under existing rules.



"People need to be very cautious about what they say about the MRP and Tribunal reports," Evans said.



"The rule is there and they would need to be particularly careful about making comments that could be construed as trying to position something before a case has been heard."



Following the Petrie-Lake clash on the Friday night of round 16, the North Melbourne forward and his coach, Brad Scott, both fulfilled pre-arranged media commitments over the weekend and commented on the incident before the case was heard that Tuesday night.



AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan also said the incident wasn't a good look for the game on the Tuesday afternoon, but prefaced his comments by saying it was not for him to comment specifically on the incident before the tribunal made its judgement that evening.



Evans said players and officials should be cautious even when asked post-game before the MRP has considered an incident.



Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson voiced his concern on Monday night about the Petrie-Lake case being discussed in the media before the tribunal met.



"We've got a Tuesday night hearing. 'Scotty' is speaking on Monday night, Drew [Petrie] is on the telly twice over the weekend [and] he's on radio on the weekend," Clarkson told Fox Footy's On The Couch.



"What 'Lakey' did wasn't right, and he had to pay a price for that. But the way that it was trotted out across four days ... I think as an industry we can do things a hell of a lot better than that."



He received some support on that issue on Tuesday from Richmond coach Damien Hardwick – a former assistant of Clarkson's at Hawthorn.



"[I] probably think it could have been done a bit better with regard to all parties just holding their tongue a little bit," Hardwick said.



However Evans ruled out the prospect of tribunal hearings being held on Sunday night during the premiership season because of the difficulty in organising the people and footage necessary.



However he said the rationale behind Clarkson's suggestion was sound.



"We would need the MRP to sit three to four times. We would need to assume we could get access to all those camera angles immediately the next day, as opposed to when the broadcasters are back and fully on deck on a Monday morning," he said.



"We would need to have the seven tribunal staff and the tribunal room on standby three to four times a weekend."



He also said players and clubs needed time and legal expertise to prepare their case.





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