The AFL match review panel will most likely send Fremantle utility Dean Solomon directly to the tribunal for his crude hit on Geelong midfielder Cameron Ling.

The contact from Solomon's raised elbow left Ling with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone and he had surgery on Sunday, putting him out of action for three to four weeks.

The panel last referred a case directly to the tribunal after Sydney key forward Barry Hall knocked out West Coast defender Brent Staker in their round-four clash.

Hall received a seven-game ban and the same punishment would end Solomon's season.

Solomon took the extraordinary step soon after Saturday's game of fronting the media to apologise for the incident and he stressed he would plead guilty.

Solomon is already on report and the best he can hope for is that the match review panel classifies the incident as a level-five offence.

Once his 30 per cent loading and carryover points for prior offences are also considered, a guilty plea would leave him with a four-match ban.

But given the seriousness of the incident, the more likely scenario is that the panel will leave it to the tribunal on Tuesday night to decide Solomon's punishment.

Speaking on Channel Seven's AFL Game Day on Sunday morning, injured Dockers midfielder Paul Hasleby said coach Mark Harvey was unimpressed by Solomon's brain snap.

"His (Harvey's) initial reaction was he might be out of action for a few weeks and he was disappointed with it, we don't encourage that sort of behaviour on the field," Hasleby said.

"To Dean Solomon's credit, what he did after the game was terrific, he approached the match committee and said `look, I feel really bad about what happened'.

"He didn't do it (the apology) for his own benefit and he was bitterly upset with what happened.

"Those who know Dean Solomon, he's a tremendous character and he's disappointed with that."

Hasleby acknowledged that the Dockers have an atrocious tribunal record, but said it had improved this season.

"By no way am I condoning what happened, but those people who know Dean Solomon, it's not his nature to do that type of thing," he said.

Geelong were tight-lipped over the incident, but acknowledged Solomon's remorse.

"We respect the fact that he felt the need to publicly apologise," said Cats football manager Neil Balme.

Several other incidents from the spiteful game will also come under video review, including an incident where Cats defender Josh Hunt made contact with David Mundy.

Sydney forward Amon Buchanan is another player set to face video scrutiny for his forceful contact with the head of Hawthorn star Luke Hodge just before halftime at the MCG.

The incident left Hodge, one of the league's toughest players, stunned for several seconds.

But he managed to play out the match.

West Coast onballer Daniel Kerr made contact with Richmond's Matt White late on Sunday, collecting him in the back of the head.

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