HAWTHORN defender Brent Guerra says he is in favour of phasing the bump out of the game.

Guerra made his name at Port Adelaide and St Kilda as one of the hardest bumpers in the AFL but says he made a conscious effort to take the bump out of his game when he moved to Hawthorn at the start of 2006.

"I had to change that because otherwise I was going to keep missing weeks," said Guerra, who admitted that bumping the hip and shoulder from his playing routine was the biggest change he had to make to his style.

Guerra's former St Kilda teammate Justin Koschitzke was suspended in round one this year for laying a heavy bump on Swan Nick Malceski.

West Coast’s Shannon Hurn has also been suspended for a similar hit on Port Adelaide’s Paul Stewart in round two.

Guerra says he supports the move towards eliminating the bump from football.

"You can’t do that anymore and that is the way the game's going," he said.

"There have been a few players who'd have to have changed their game over the last couple of years and I’m one of them but I’ve got no problems with it.

"I haven’t been cited for a few years which is for the best."

Guerra said that the AFL's move to protect players with their heads over the ball was a good one and said it was up to players to ensure their hits were within the rules.