The football gods have smiled on Nat Fyfe, with the Fremantle superstar still the raging favourite to win the Brownlow Medal following a favourable ruling from the match review panel on Monday.

It was a case of third time lucky for Fyfe, as the panel judged his high hit on North Melbourne run-with player Ben Jacobs not worthy of another minor offence that would have eliminated him from the Brownlow race.

In the other major incident assessed by the panel, Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge was handed a two-match suspension for his bump on Chad Wingard that sandwiched the Port Adelaide star between Hodge's body and the point post during Friday's match at Etihad Stadium.

Fyfe's chance of winning the game's highest individual honour was in jeopardy on Sunday when he was reported for making "forceful front-on contact" on Jacobs.

However the panel ruled that the contact was "incidental" and the force "insufficient" to constitute a report.

"The ball was loose, with Jacobs turning back towards the bouncing ball with Fyfe coming towards him," the panel's verdict began.

"As Jacobs reached for the ball, Fyfe goes to ground with his hands out in front of him to contest the ball. As Fyfe moves into the contest, he makes incidental high contact to the North Melbourne player's face with his arm and a free kick is paid against him.

"Fyfe's body then makes contact to Jacobs' chest and shoulder area. It was the view of the panel there was insufficient forceful high contact to constitute a reportable offence."

Had the incident resulted in another fine for Fyfe – who had previously been sanctioned for two other low-level offences this year – the Dockers dynamo would have been suspended for a week under the revamped tribunal system.

Fyfe was fined $1000 for tripping Western Bulldog Koby Stevens in round seven, and then $1500 for a second low-level offence after he was found guilty of rough conduct for hitting Hawthorn's Taylor Duryea for a high hit in round 15.

The decision is certain to create debate within the industry, with the panel already viewed to have softened its stance this year on incidents that in previous seasons would have generated heftier penalties.

Fyfe was reinstalled on Monday as the clear $1.75 favourite with TAB for the Brownlow, ahead of West Coast star Matt Priddis and North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein.

Fyfe is leading The Age Player of the Year award with Goldstein on 94 votes.

Fremantle has never had a Brownlow medal winner and Fyfe was ineligible last year because of suspension when he polled 25 votes.

Speaking after Sunday's game, Dockers coach Ross Lyon had hoped the vision of his clash with Ben Jacobs would show him going hard and low after the ball.

The penalty on Hodge for rough conduct was affected by his previous bad record – he was suspended for three games for striking North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow in round five – however the key Hawk will still be available for the first week of finals.

The panel judged the bump on Wingard as "careless conduct with medium impact to the head".

Hodge will miss the club's final two games against bottom of the ladder teams Brisbane (Tasmania) and Carlton (MCG), should he accept the panel's offer.

Should he contest the ban and lose, he risks a three-week ban and missing the Hawks' expected qualifying final appearance.

In other findings, Fyfe's star Docker teammate David Mundy was offered a $1000 fine for striking North Melbourne match-winner Brent Harvey during the game on Sunday, having classified the contact as "intentional conduct with low impact to the body".

Meanwhile, the match day report against Collingwood's Jarryd Blair for making forceful front-on contact on Richmond's Anthony Miles was thrown out, with panel's view being that Blair was "trying to contest the ball as he reached forward and he had no real alternative way to contest the ball".