HAWTHORN defender Josh Gibson is free to play against the Saints on Saturday after accepting a reprimand for striking on Tuesday morning.

The Match Review Panel cited Gibson on Monday for a spoiling attempt that made contact with Richmond’s Reece Conca’s head during the final quarter of Hawthorn’s 66-point win over the Tigers at the MCG.

Gibson is free to play this weekend, however, after accepting 70.31 carry-over points towards his future record.

It means the defence will be boosted by his inclusion for Saturday's game, with the Hawks facing the difficult task of stopping in-form St Kilda forward Nick Riewoldt.

The Saints star is in vintage form to start the season, kicking 18 goals in six matches to be the joint leader of the Coleman Medal.

Already, Hawthorn defender Ben Stratton has declared stopping Riewoldt will be a team effort because of his running capacity and ability to work back inside forward 50.

The incident involving Gibson was assessed by the MRP as negligent conduct (one point), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points) -  a total of five activation points, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction.

But thanks to a six-year good record, the penalty was reduced by 25 per cent to a reprimand and 93.75 points towards his future record.

An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent to a reprimand and 70.31 demerit points towards his future record.