Fremantle midfielder Des Headland beat what initially looked like damning video evidence at the AFL Tribunal to successfully challenge his charge of attempting to strike an opponent.

In a major boost for the seventh-placed Dockers, who face a big test on Sunday when they play the fifth-placed Western Bulldogs, Headland's victory cast aside the two-game suspension the match review panel had offered him.

Headland wildly swung his left arm across the face of Richmond's Kayne Pettifer at Subiaco Oval last Saturday and on initial viewing it looked like the Docker had lost his marbles as he stood over the Tigers forward.

But defence advocate John Prior instructed the jury panel to look closer at the video footage, which showed Headland had swung his arm across Pettifer's face with an open hand in an attempt to break the hold the Tiger had on the Fremantle player's jumper.

Geelong's Gary Ablett was also successful at the tribunal, as he won a contest against the panel's citing him for rough conduct against West Coast's David Wirrpanda at Skilled Stadium last Saturday.

Ablett was offered only a reprimand by the panel for his bump, but chose to contest the charge and the 75 demerit points the panel allocated were wiped clean from the star Cat's record.

Although forceful, Ablett's bump was described by his defence advocate Iain Findlay as a "classic hip and shoulder" and the "essence of what our game is about", and both Ablett and Wirrpanda believed the contact was fair and part of the game.

The three-man jury of former players Stewart Loewe, Emmett Dunne and David Pittman took only a couple of minutes to agree.

Prior said a hand guard and heavy strapping to protect Headland's recently broken left thumb prevented him from closing his fist, and that video evidence also showed he was looking at Pettifer's left hand when he swung his arm across him, which narrowly missed his face.

"If your intention was to hit someone in the face, you'd be looking at someone's head or face regardless of whether you made contact with the blow," Prior said.

Headland said he wanted to break Pettifer's hold so he could form part of a zone defence as the Tigers prepared to kick the ball into play after a Fremantle behind.

Fremantle had risked having Headland's penalty extended to three games had it lost the challenge.

It was Pettifer who came out of the game worse off, as he accepted the panel's offer of a reprimand for striking the Dockers' Steven Dodd, and also accepted a $900 fine for wrestling Dodd.

Dodd and teammate James Walker were both each fined $900 for wrestling Pettifer.

The other two players offered suspensions by the panel, Essendon midfielder Henry Slattery and Brisbane Lions ruckman Jamie Charman, accepted one-game suspensions earlier on Tuesday.

Slattery will be on the sidelines for the Bombers' clash against Geelong on Friday night for attempting to strike Adelaide's Chris Knights last Friday night at AAMI Stadium.

Charman pleaded guilty to engaging in rough conduct against Collingwood's Anthony Rocca at the MCG last Saturday night, and won't play in Saturday night's game against the Crows.

The Bulldogs' Brett Montgomery accepted a reprimand for engaging in rough conduct against Hawthorn ruckman Peter Everitt at Telstra Dome last Saturday, while Carlton's Simon Wiggins also accepted a reprimand for striking Port Adelaide's Michael Wilson at the Dome last Sunday.

The Dockers also had more good news off the field, as chief executive Cameron Schwab confirmed he had extended his contract with the club for another three years.

Schwab was appointed Fremantle chief executive after the 2001 season, when the Dockers won only two games for the year.

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