North Melbourne premiership players Wayne Carey and Wayne Schwass have defended the tackle by Bryce Gibbs that inadvertently knocked out Robbie Gray, as the player himself insisted he did not want to hurt his Port Adelaide opponent.

The Carlton midfielder's sling-type tackle on Gray, in which he turned him around and resulted in his head hitting the turf as his arms were pinned, will be high on the agenda of the match review panel in its weekly appraisal. Gray later passed a concussion test but was nevertheless substituted by the Power as a precaution. They said he is "in no doubt" to play next weekend.

Gibbs stressed he "didn't mean to put him on a stretcher".

"I didn't really want to see him go down like that. No one wants to see other blokes get carried off on a stretcher. We'll just have to see how it plays out," Gibbs told Channel Nine. "There was definitely no malice ... unfortunately his arms were pinned and his head hit the ground ... I just thought my momentum carried him."

Both coaches, Carlton's John Barker and Port Adelaide's Ken Hinkley, defended the conduct of Gibbs. Hinkley reckoned Gibbs' intention "was just to tackle and wrap him up", and the consequence  was "unfortunate". Barker said "it'd be hard to coach [a player] to tackle any differently in that situation".

If Gibbs is, as expected, cited for rough conduct he is set to be graded careless conduct and high contact. If deemed high impact it would trigger a three-match ban that could be cut to two with a guilty plea, or two down to one if rated medium impact.

Carey lamented on Triple M that "we're looking at the injury, not the tackle itself". His former teammate Schwass argued Gibbs "had no case to answer" as he held himself to Gray the whole time and "went with the tackle", rather than pulled Gray by the jumper to increase the momentum as he swung him around. He said Gray's mild concussion was "an unfortunate byproduct of a contact sport".

North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow is unlikely to face anything more severe than a fine after being reported for tripping GWS' Josh Kelly, with his leg as Kelly tried to thwart Swallow chasing his teammate Devon Smith.

Three Hawthorn players – Sam Mitchell, Ben Stratton, Josh Gibson – could be scrutinised for incidents that, like for Swallow, are unlikely to trigger anything more than a fine, if anything. Stratton and Gibson could escape striking charges, respectively against Eddie Betts and Charlie Cameron, due to lack of impact, while Mitchell's knee to the upper leg of Crows captain Taylor Walker may escape penalty altogether if the panel deems he was bracing for impact with Walker, who was shepherding for  Rory Sloane.

Match Review Panel predictions:  Ben Stratton (Haw) striking Eddie Betts (Adel). No charge; insufficient impact. Josh Gibson (Haw) striking Charlie Cameron (Adel). No charge; insufficient impact. Sam Mitchell (Haw) kneeing Taylor Walker (Adel). No charge; legitimate attempt to brace for contact. Bryce Gibbs (Carl) rough conduct to Robbie Gray (PA). Careless, high impact, high contact. 3 matches; 2 with guilty plea. Reported: Andrew Swallow (NM) for tripping Josh Kelly (GWS). Intentional, low impact, body contact. $1500 fine; $1000 with guilty plea.