ST KILDA looks likely to challenge the two-match suspension offered to defender Jake Carlisle for striking Richmond's Jack Riewoldt.

Carlisle was attempting to spoil the ball in the opening minutes of Saturday’s match at the MCG but his late attempt collected Riewoldt in the head, leaving the premiership forward concussed.

The action was graded as careless, high impact and high contact by Match Review Officer Michael Christian.

"We'll talk about it over the course of the evening. We don't have to make a decision until 11 o'clock [on Tuesday]," Saints coach Alan Richardson said on Fox Footy.

"We think it was clumsy. Jack wasn't able to take part in the game and we've had this conversation about protecting the head.

"Our gut feel was that it'd be a week. Players always have a really good feel for this and no-one remonstrated with Jake, it was a clumsy action that got him high.

"We thought he would probably miss a week, we were a bit surprised with two, so that's the conversation we'll have tonight (Monday)."

Riewoldt's teammate Josh Caddy was suspended for a week in round two for a similar incident that left Adelaide's David Mackay concussed.

Richardson said that may be used in a possible tribunal appeal.

The difference in the two cases was Caddy's was graded as medium impact, as opposed to high.

"It was very similar and got one week. If we go that way, that'll be the argument," he said.

"There's been a precedence where a similar outcome, a player concussed, his intent was to go for the ball and hit his head, we understand we need to protect the head and he was suspended for a week."

St Kilda plays the ladder-leading West Coast and fourth-placed Sydney over the next two weeks and is already missing defenders Sam Gilbert (thumb) and Dylan Roberton (heart issue).

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