North Melbourne will be without key defender Griffin Logue for their Good Friday clash with Carlton after the AFL tribunal upheld his one-game ban for rough conduct.
The tribunal didn't accept Logue's argument he was simply playing the football and had not intended to bump Hawthorn's Will Day in their round three loss.
It leaves the Kangaroos with a defensive issue ahead of facing the Blues, needing to find other options to match-up with twin towers Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.
North's Ben McKay, who would be another option, won't play in the fixture as he requires more time to overcome a foot injury.
Logue's defence was that he was only ever attempting to win the football and did not intend to 'bump' Day, with his eyes locked and his head over the ball at the points of the collision.
He said he'd slowed down to gather the footy and only knew Day was there when the ball ricocheted off his foot.
No free kick was awarded against Logue and his lawyer noted no Hawthorn players remonstrated with him after the incident, and Day was not injured.
But tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson dismissed his arguments and said he'd made a specific decision to bump.
"After initially preparing to bend low to pick up the ball, (Logue) changed his intention, did not attempt to pick up the ball but instead chose to bump," he said.
"He could and should have gone lower and closer to the ball with his hands in an attempt to pick up the ball rather than choosing to bump."
Before the hearing, Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson said they were challenging the ban for an "assessment on what is allowed in the game", adding the incident was two players coming together rather than a bump.
"The powers that be will make that decision, but if these are off-the-ball incidents or it's a player that's definitely contesting the ball and another one's just trying to bump him out of the contest, then it's a different kettle of fish," he said.
"In this instance, we think this is in play and in a split-second the decision's had to be made and that decision in our view was around (Logue) trying to protect himself more so than trying to take a player out."
Later, Carlton's Blake Acres will also bid to play in the fixture when he challenges his own one-game ban for rough conduct.
Acres bumped GWS forward Brent Daniels high in their clash at Giants Stadium on Saturday.
