A SWINGING right arm from Gold Coast captain Steven May on North Melbourne star Shaun Higgins is set to be looked at by Match Review Officer Michael Christian.

May struck Higgins early in the second half and gave away a free kick in the Suns' 37-point loss to the Kangaroos at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

That wasn't the only time the Brownlow Medal fancy was targeted, with Alex Sexton, who played a shut-down role on Higgins, landing a gut punch on the Roo in the opening term.

The AFL has cracked down on gut punches and sought to remove them from the game, emphasising that before the start of the season.

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Suns coach Stuart Dew believed after the match he didn't think May would miss any matches.

"It's a free kick. I thought that was fair enough," Dew said.

St Kilda midfielder Jack Steele was fined $1500 for a tummy tap on Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver last Sunday and it seems likely May will receive a similar penalty.

However, a suspension would leave Gold Coast without both its skippers against Essendon next Saturday night at Metricon Stadium, with Tom Lynch sidelined for the rest of the season after knee surgery.

May struck Higgins when the margin was 11 points and the Roo slotted a goal from his free kick.

"It's disappointing, no doubt, from our captain," Dew said.

"I'll have a chat to him, but he would know. We'll just look at each other, and you know.

"As a captain, you know that you let the team down in that moment.

"I think he responded well after that."

The Suns improved after a limp opening term when they laid just five tackles.

"North's ball use was OK in the first quarter, but I think everyone was waiting for someone to kick-start it," Dew said.

"We spoke to them at quarter-time and obviously demanded a response and we got it, which is a bit of a back-handed compliment, isn't it?

"You don't want to get to quarter-time and have to give a bit of a cook and then get them going."

May hurt his right hip after landing awkwardly in a marking contest just before the main break, but that did not greatly concern Dew.

"He was a little bit sore at half-time, went back out and then he was able to play the game out, so he'll be a little bit sore. He never put his hand up to come off," Dew said.

Meanwhile, Sean Lemmens spent time in the rooms for a concussion test but he passed it and returned to the field.