THE AFL Tribunal has upheld North Melbourne defender Jackson Archer's three-match rough conduct ban over the sickening collision that knocked out the Western Bulldogs' Luke Cleary.

After 39 minutes of deliberation, the Tribunal upheld the ban, ruling Archer, the son of club legend Glenn, out of games against Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.

Cleary was knocked out when Archer's knee made contact with his head in a contest in Saturday night's match at Marvel Stadium.

Play was stopped and Cleary received medical attention before being taken to hospital.

The match review officer graded Archer's actions as careless, severe impact and high contact, resulting in the three-game suspension.

The incident has been the subject of much debate over the past few days, with a number of past and current players labelling it an "unfortunate accident" and even Dogs coach Luke Beveridge saying he didn't think Archer should be suspended.

Cleary, 23, was back at Whitten Oval in good spirits on Monday but will miss the Bulldogs' match against Collingwood on Friday night under concussion protocols.

North's defence centred around Cleary's decision to go to ground to collect the ball, rather than stay on his feet.

Gleeson acknowledged rules encouraged players to keep their feet but this didn't always happen and "players need to be aware", saying Archer had "slowed too little and too late".

North can still take the case to the AFL appeals board.

Archer said he was initially competing for the ball, then looked to press.

"I expected him to pick up the ball and stay on his feet," he said, noting players were trained not to go to ground.

Archer said once Cleary's knee hit the ground, he had slowed down and braced for impact.

"My bum's down, trying to slow down as much (as possible), hit the brakes," he said.

Archer reached out to Cleary the following day and the Bulldogs defender had told him the incident wasn't his fault.

AFL lawyer Andrew Woods said Archer hadn't taken "reasonable care" to avoid the collision and had Cleary stayed on his feet and bent down to get the ball, the outcome could have been worse.

North used graphs showing Archer's "active deceleration" prior to impact and lawyer Justin Graham noted he showed "no indication of ever turning to bump" or "leaving the ground".

Graham said Cleary also appeared to receive contact in his back/shoulder from Jacob Konstanty, who was behind him.

Richmond forward Tom Lynch and Hawthorn defender Jack Scrimshaw will also appeal their three-match bans at the Tribunal on Tuesday.

Lynch was banned for one game for a high bump on Carlton's Tom De Koning, while Scrimshaw copped a three-match suspension for striking Essendon's Jordan Ridley.

Melbourne is yet to decide whether they will accept or challenge Aidan Johnson's one-match suspension for rough conduct on Giants forward Callum Brown, while Sydney has accepted Justin McInerney's three-match ban for the bump that concussed Brisbane's Brandon Starcevich.

Tuesday's AFL Tribunal schedule

4pm AEDT: Jackson Archer
Not before 5.30pm AEDT: Tom Lynch
Not before 7pm AEDT: Jack Scrimshaw