North Melbourne midfielder Jack Ziebell won’t line up against Freo this weekend after he accepted a one-game suspension for his late spoil on St. Kilda’s Jack Newnes on Saturday.
Ziebell was offered a one-game sanction with an early guilty from the Match Review Panel.
North Melbourne director of football Geoff Walsh told North Melbourne’s website the club would not appeal Ziebell’s sanction.
“We considered trying to get the impact downgraded from medium to low, thus making it a fine,” Walsh said.
“But after consultation with Jack and others, we felt a challenge and subsequent risk of a two game sanction instead of one, was too much of a gamble.”
Ziebell has not missed a game this season, and has averaged close to 20 disposals per game for the Kangaroos in 2015, including 20 possessions and a goal when the two sides last met in round eight.
Ziebell’s ban comes at a big cost for North Melbourne, after Fremantle’s midfield received a boost last weekend when Nat Fyfe made his return from a groin injury.