Todd Goldstein will be the second player disadvantaged by the new tribunal system, rather than aided by it, if he is charged by the match review panel for a blow that felled Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne at the weekend.

The Kangaroos ruckman is likely to join GWS' Jeremy Cameron and Sydney's Jarrad McVeigh as facing punishment for incidents seemingly on the borderline between fines and suspensions.

Goldstein was pursuing his Fremantle opponent Aaron Sandilands, who was leading to a clearing kick from the Dockers' back pocket, when Ballantyne sought to block his path. Just before the players collided, with Ballantyne coming from Goldstein's side, the ruckman lifted his right arm, the outside of which made high contact to Ballantyne. The Dockers forward required assistance from trainers but was able to continue playing.

The presiding umpire only saw the aftermath, Ballantyne on the turf, and paid a free-kick and a 50-metre penalty because of it.

If Goldstein is charged his conduct is likely to be rated no higher than careless, because Ballantyne seemed to be out of his eyeline until just before the incident. Even so, if the impact is judged medium or above Goldstein would be ineligible for a fine and would instead be suspended.

Among the reforms that allowed players to be fined, rather than suspended, for minor incidents came the removal of the rule which allowed a discount for players who had not been penalised over the past six years.

Goldstein, 26, is in his eighth season and has not been cited in his 133 matches. If he was charged by the panel for a careless, medium-impact, high-contact strike it would trigger a two-match ban that could be cut to one with a guilty plea. A low-impact grading would allow him to escape with a $1000 fine.

The first player to miss out on a discount this year, when he would have been eligible under last year's rules, was Carlton's Chris Yarran in round three, for a strike the tribunal deemed worthy of a three-match ban.

The Giants' Cameron was reported for forceful front-on contact against Kyle Cheney. While the Adelaide defender contributed to the incident by ducking his head, Cameron's cause is likely to be harmed by him having made no attempt to pick up the ball, unlike Cheney.

Cameron turned sideways in the incident, and although he was barely moving - it appeared he tried to stop, rather than deliver a bump - he made hefty contact to the top of Cheney's shoulders, which qualifies as high contact irrespective of how much, if any, contact there was to the head.

With high contact assured if charged, a classification of careless and low impact, the latter because Cheney recovered quickly enough to take the free-kick, it would trigger a $1500 fine that could be cut to $1000.

Swans co-captain McVeigh is set to be scrutinised for a blow to Will Langford. McVeigh was late in attempting to tackle the Hawks midfielder and cuffed him high with his right arm just under his chin after he had handballed. A classification of reckless, low impact and high contact would allow McVeigh to escape with a $1000 fine if he pleads guilty.

Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell is expected to escape penalty for a high blow to Sydney's Tom Mitchell in the same match, after his opponent had attempted to block him, due to lack of impact.

One of the most difficult incidents for the panel to assess is expected to be the incident which left St Kilda's Jimmy Webster with a bloodied nose and suspected concussion.

Webster had just marked when an attempted spoil from West Coast's Elliott Yeo got him in the head and prematurely ended his day.

While Hawthorn's Jordan Lewis recently received a base suspension of three matches for a late spoil, and the damage to Webster was more severe than to Lewis' victim Todd Goldstein, Yeo came much closer to successfully spoiling the mark, and did not sharply swing his arm into his opponent as part of the attempt as Lewis had.

If the panel overrules president umpire Nick Foot's belief the contact was "in the contest . . . not a second action" then Yeo is likely to miss at least a fortnight, because the impact to Webster would seemingly be deemed at least high. A classification of careless, high impact and high contact would trigger a base penalty of three matches that could be cut to two. If the impact was judged severe the Eagle would be referred to the tribunal.

Saints midfielder David Armitage is likely to avoid penalty for forceful front-on contact to West Coast's Chris Masten, for which he conceded a free-kick, because he was making a reasonable attempt to gain possession.

MATCH REVIEW PANEL - ROUND 7 PREDICTIONS
David Armitage (StK) forceful front-on contact to Chris Masten (WC). No charge; legitimate attempt to gain possession.
Elliott Yeo (WC) striking Jimmy Webster (StK). No charge; legitimate attempt to spoil.
Reported: Jeremy Cameron (GWS) forceful front-on contact to Kyle Cheney (Adel). Careless, low impact, high contact. $1500 fine; $1000 with guilty plea.
Jarrad McVeigh (Syd) striking Will Langford (Haw). Careless, low impact, high contact. $1500 fine; $1000 with guilty plea.
Sam Mitchell (Haw) striking Tom Mitchell (Syd). No charge; insufficient impact.
Todd Goldstein (NM) striking Hayden Ballantyne (Fre). Careless, low impact, high contact. $1500 fine; $1000 with guilty plea.