Carlton will appeal Lachie Plowman's two-match suspension at the AFL appeals board after an unsuccessful night at the AFL tribunal.
Plowman received a two-match ban for his bump that concussed Hawthorn's Jaeger O'Meara.
The ball was in flight when Plowman came in to contest it just as O'Meara was about to take a mark.
Carlton unsuccessfully appealed the ban at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night, and confirmed on Wednesday that they would challenge the verdict.
The AFL's legal counsel Jeff Gleeson argued on Tuesday night that it was not reasonable for Plowman to contest the ball and he had a duty of care to protect O'Meara.
Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield wasn't sure the incident warranted a suspension.
"It's right on the cusp. It's a really difficult one," Dangerfield told SEN.
"I feel for Lachie in that situation, as much as I feel for Jaeger and the player on the receiving end.
"It's easy to review these things in slow motion and talk about what the players should have done, but this is a high-speed game.
"We understand as players it's a contact game, it's a difficult game, and split-second decisions have to be made.
"Most of the time you're trying to impact where you can for the betterment of the team."
Meanwhile, Dangerfield said he's still perplexed that Gold Coast utility Nick Holman was initially hit with with a two-game ban for a rundown tackle that earned him a free kick.
Cats midfielder Mitch Duncan suffered a concussion when his head hit the turf after being run down from behind by Holman.
Most experts viewed the injury as merely bad luck, with Holman's technique appearing to be sound.
But AFL match review officer Michael Christian thought differently and he raised eyebrows when he deemed Holman's action was worthy of a two-match ban.
The dangerous tackle charge was dismissed by the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night, and Dangerfield was left scratching his head that there was a suspension handed down in the first place.
"It's a little perplexing," Dangerfield said.
"In that scenario when you're chasing down a player, I'm not sure there's much more he could have done. It did seem like the perfect play.
"It's a hard game to play. And something like that where you're doing your best to put pressure on the opponent - you've got to be realistic with what you're asking your players to do.
"There's plenty of cases throughout the year where the right decision was made but we were just a little bit off with that one over the weekend.
"I think in the end the right decision was made."
