The Gold Coast Suns have confirmed the club will challenge Charlie Ballard's one-match suspension.
Ballard was handed a one-match ban from the MRO after striking Essendon's Matt Guelfi during Sunday afternoon's loss, with the club now set to head to the AFL Tribunal tonight.
The third term incident was graded by the MRO as Intentional Conduct, Low Impact, High Contact, handed a one-game suspension as a first offence.
Should Ballard's one-match ban be upheld, the defender miss the Suns' clash against Geelong at Heritage Bank Stadium, but will be free to face St Kilda in Round 4.
Ballard's suspension comes amid what has been a disappointing start to the season for Gold Coast, losing their first two games by 49 and 28 points to sit 16th on the ladder.
Ballard was the latest in a string of suspensions to come out of Round 2, with Ryan Burton (Rough Conduct) and Jy Simpkin (Striking) suspended for one and two matches respectively, while Nathan Broad has been sent directly to the tribunal for his sling tackle on Patrick Parnell.
The Tribunal will now hear both Broad and Ballard's cases on Tuesday evening, with proceedings to get underway at 5pm (AEDT).
