CARLTON decided to accept the two-match penalty offered to Bryce Gibbs for tackling Port Adelaide's Robbie Gray because it was too risky to appeal.

The Blues' midfielder would have risked a three-week suspension if he lost his appeal of the rough conduct charge, so the pragmatic course was taken.

Carlton considered it next to impossible to argue that the action was not high impact given Gray lost consciousness after his head hit the ground.

Gibbs accepts ban

AFL.com.au understands it also determined that the match review panel's decision to grade the action as careless would have been difficult to counter at the tribunal.

The Blues did however consider the question seriously before accepting the two weeks.

Football manager Andrew McKay told the club website he thought it was a fair tackle.

"While we believe Bryce executed a fair tackle and it was never his intention to cause injury, given the Match Review Panel's history around similar incidents we thought it was in the best interests of both Bryce and the club to accept the sanction," McKay said.

Melbourne's Jack Trengove was suspended for three weeks after appealing an MRP decision for tackling Patrick Dangerfield in 2011 that saw him receive an original two-week sanction.  

He then appealed the tribunal's three-week suspension but again failed.

Gibbs' tackle just before half-time has split opinion with Port Adelaide's Chad Wingard defending the action. However, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley told FoxFooty on Monday night the MRP decision was as he expected.