Brisbane defender Matt Maguire will miss Saturday night's Gabba clash with Fremantle after failing to convince the AFL Tribunal an incident in which he sustained a fractured cheekbone was not his fault

Maguire was suspended for one match for rough conduct over a clash of heads with Sydney midfielder Jude Bolton at the SCG on Saturday night.

The Lions backman was trying to prevent Bolton scoring by pushing his body in front of the Swan as he was taking a running shot at goal.

Maguire argued that after their legs collided, Bolton caused their heads to bang together by pushing his head forward as part of his kicking motion.

"I was trying to put my body in front of his body and affect the kick by coming across his leg rather than take the body out," Maguire said.

"His head dropped and came in and made contact with my cheekbone." But the jury failed to accept his argument, instead ruling that Maguire's action in running in and initiating contact was the substantial cause of the head clash.

Maguire, who gave evidence from Brisbane via videolink, shook his head in disbelief when the guilty verdict was handed down.

It meant he received a one-match ban, as well as 68.75 carryover points, although he would have been suspended for two games if not for a penalty reduction for his clean prior record.

He would still have received a one-match suspension had he entered an early guilty plea, but would have had fewer points hanging over his head.

Maguire had surgery on Tuesday to repair a depressed fracture of the cheekbone and also suffered concussion as a result of the clash, while Bolton sustained mild concussion.

He was a decent chance to play against the Dockers if he had beaten the charge.

The defender has revived his AFL career in his first season with the Lions.

They picked him up in the national draft after St Kilda kept him stranded on 99 AFL games all last season - despite his recovery from leg injuries which had wrecked his previous two seasons - and then delisted him.

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