LINDSAY Thomas says he has to regain the respect of his North Melbourne teammates after his two-match ban for head-butting.
 
Speaking at Aegis Park on Tuesday afternoon, Thomas agreed with his teammate Brent Harvey's earlier assessment that his head-butt on Greater Western Sydney's Jacob Townsend on Sunday had been "silly".
 
"It was a silly thing to do and I've got to pay the consequences now and miss two games. That's the most disappointing thing," Thomas said.
 
"I just let the boys know how disappointed I was in myself, and I'll do everything I can to get their respect back.
 
"It'll be disappointing to watch from the sidelines when we've got a big game (against Richmond) this week."

Harvey said earlier on Tuesday North was disappointed in Thomas but wouldn't slap him with a club penalty given he had offered his teammates a heart-felt apology on Monday. 

Harvey was confident Thomas would learn from his latest suspension.
 
"He knows (his actions were disappointing) and that's the good thing about it," Harvey said.
 
"Hopefully he can come out the other end and learn from it and I'm sure you won't see that again because he was very disappointed Monday morning when he spoke to the playing group."
 

Thomas' penalty was increased by carryover points from his two-week suspension for rough conduct against Melbourne's Daniel Nicholson in round 19 last year.
 
The small forward also controversially escaped suspension for a bump on Collingwood's Ben Reid in round one this year, with the MRP ruling the pair's head clash was accidental.
 
Thomas has been in career-best form this season, putting past goalkicking yips behind him to kick 39.16 to sit fourth on Coleman Medal table.
 
Thomas had not thought about the impact his suspension would have on his Coleman Medal chances, but said it was very disappointing to be sidelined when in good form. 
 
"I just have to do everything I can to get back in the team, and hopefully I can continue where I left off," Thomas said.
 
Harvey said Thomas would be surely missed in the Roos' upcoming clashes with Richmond and the Brisbane Lions, but was unsure who would replace him in the team.
 
Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nick