Carlton captain Chris Judd will seek a happy ending to a horror week when he fronts the AFL's appeals board on Thursday night.

The Blues are aiming to overturn the decision made by the tribunal on Tuesday night to ban the midfield superstar for the opening three matches of the 2010 season.

Judd was found guilty of making unnecessary and unreasonable contact to the face of Brisbane's Michael Rischitelli during Saturday night's AFL elimination final loss at the Gabba, which ended the Blues' season.

Carlton are appealing on the basis that "the decision was so unreasonable that no tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it".

It will be just the third appeal this AFL season, but the second in a fortnight.

Hawthorn's Lance Franklin tried unsuccessfully to reverse a two-match ban for rough conduct over his bump which knocked out Richmond's Ben Cousins in round 21.

Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell fared better in the pre-season when he escaped a four-game rough conduct suspension, a decision which prompted the league to tighten rules on head-high contact.

The Hawks claimed to have the broader interests of the game at heart in their appeal, with president Jeff Kennett arguing the Franklin verdict "changed the nature of football forever".

But there appears no such imperative behind the Blues' move.

In their appeal submission, they argued both the classification of the offence and the three-game sanction are "manifestly excessive".

Their argument at the tribunal hearing centred on the claim that Judd touched Rischitelli so lightly that even the "low impact" grading applied by the match review panel was excessive.

Judd's advocate, David Grace QC, also suggested the 2004 Brownlow medallist might not have been charged at all if not for "hysteria" over public comments he made the day after the game.

Judd told reporters he had been searching for a "pressure point" behind Rischitelli's ear, a claim he tried to pass off during the tribunal hearing as a "poorly-timed joke".

"Why is he here? Is it because of what he said in what he says is the jovial manner that he did? If he had said nothing, would there have been this furore?" Grace asked the tribunal.

The Blues also made an unsuccessful attempt to have the penalty downgraded under a clause covering "exceptional and compelling circumstances".

The Blues claimed the impact was so low that even if an offence was committed it should not be regarded as seriously as other offences in the same category.

They also argued that Judd's excellent playing record, including best and fairest awards and captaincy at two clubs, should have been taken into account in determining the penalty.

If Judd's appeal is unsuccessful, next year's AFL season will open without three of the competition's biggest stars because of suspension - Judd, Franklin and Essendon skipper Matthew Lloyd.

Lloyd, who is set to decide his future this week, has three matches left to serve of a four-game suspension received for a high bump on Hawthorn's Brad Sewell in round 22.

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