ESSENDON coach John Worsfold says it will be "interesting" to see how players are penalised for strikes to the stomach for the rest of the season following David Zaharakis' suspension by the Match Review Panel.

The star Bomber was hit with a two-week ban, subsequently reduced to one week after the player submitted an early guilty plea, for his 'tummy tap' against West Coast youngster Jackson Nelson last Thursday.

Two Bombers accept bans for Eagle strikes

The panel said an "adverse" medical report from the Eagles was important in its grading, which saw Zaharakis become the first player suspended out of 16 across the league who have struck the stomach of an opponent this year.

Worsfold confirmed on Tuesday the club would accept the penalty, as well as the one-match ban for ruckman Mark Jamar, but questioned whether the judgment was inconsistent with the precedent set so far in 2016. 

"It was a reaction obviously [after] getting a lot of attention around the stoppages. I read the stats and there's been maybe 16 … of them this year, so he's not on his own, but we'd much rather him out on the field with us and we need him out there," Worsfold said.

"It will be interesting to see [how it is assessed in the future]. They've penalised him, so now another 16 or so will go unpenalised or fined? They obviously assessed his as more serious than the others so he's got to wear that."

Ahead of the Bombers' clash with St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Worsfold said the club had been optimistic on Monday before the MRP's ruling arrived.

Match preview: Essendon v St Kilda

He said a failed appeal, which would have resulted in two weeks out for the important Bomber, was not worth the risk. 

"I was hopeful. You go on track record and you see some that are so similar that have been fines, so when you get one that they say 'No, that one's a little more severe than the others,' it's frustrating," he said.

"It's too risky to challenge it. Two weeks for that would seem well and truly over the top."

The Bombers were also left surprised by the AFL's ruling on Monday that a free kick paid against Courtenay Dempsey for a dangerous tackle on Andrew Gaff was the correct decision.

Interim umpires boss Luke Ball told AFL.com.au's Whistleblowers that the free kick was there to be paid against Dempsey, but Worsfold didn't agree. 

"It looked like to me it was a good tackle. It wasn't in the back, I didn't feel it was a dangerous tackle. We didn't hear anything from the AFL to warn us it was a dangerous tackle heading towards a penalty as such, but they deemed it enough to be a free kick," Worsfold said. 

"It's in the eye of the adjudicating umpire and there's been a lot of debate about it. I would debate it should have been a free kick to us or play on."

The Bombers will be aiming to avoid their 13th straight defeat when they take on the Saints, but will not be blooding top-10 draft choice Aaron Francis.

The No.6 pick has performed well at VFL level in recent weeks and took 13 marks on the weekend, but Worsfold said Francis needed at least one more VFL game before being considered for senior selection.

"We still believe he's not quite at that fitness level that he requires. I've got no doubt he can perform well, but he'd be at high risk of injury and of also struggling through the full game of AFL. For his absolute benefit, we think he's probably another week away," Worsfold said.