Hawthorn are weighing up another risky AFL Tribunal visit for their star forward Lance Franklin after he was suspended again for high contact.

Franklin will receive a two-match ban if he unsuccessfully contests the level-one charge of bumping or making forceful contact from front-on, but can accept a one-game suspension with an early plea.

Essendon are likely to contest Dustin Fletcher's tripping charge, given he would receive a one-match ban if he took the plea or the tribunal found him guilty.

The match review panel formalised the charge against Franklin after he was booked in the last quarter of Sunday's two-point win over Sydney for his bump on Swans defender Martin Mattner.

It was the third time in eight games that Franklin has been charged with high contact, all against shorter opponents.

He received a two-game ban for his round-21 bump last season on Richmond midfielder Ben Cousins and the bump on Western Bulldogs veteran Jason Akermanis earnt him a one-game suspension.

The Hawks were looking at video footage of similar incidents on Monday as they weighed up whether to contest the case.

They have until late on Tuesday morning to make a decision.

Franklin's team-mate Shaun Burgoyne said coach Alastair Clarkson had told the Hawks not to bump, but defended the star forward for being a repeat offender.

"It's still hard to curb that instinct ... you obviously want to get the ball and you want to get to the contest," Burgoyne said.

"The tricky one is when you're both getting to the contest at the same time and the ball is in between - what do you do?

"Do you slide under, do you bump, do you wait, tackle?

"There are probably two or three things flashing through your mind at once, that's the tricky one.

"A lot of players play on instinct, you don't really have time to think."

Burgoyne added that Franklin's size did not help when the ball was on the ground and in dispute.

"You can watch in slow motion as many times as you want, but the game is that quick, you probably just have to put it away now - let the person pick the ball up and tackle them," Burgoyne said.

"It may not look the best at the time, but what do you do?"

The panel rated Franklin's bump as level one and that normally would only mean a reprimand if he took an early plea.

But his poor record and carry-over demerit points took it above the threshold for a two-game ban.

There was some good news for Franklin - the panel cleared him for another last-quarter incident, where he made contact with Gary Rohan.

Meanwhile, Fletcher was charged with tripping Western Bulldogs opponent Barry Hall in the second quarter of Friday night's match.

Fletcher's poor record means the penalty remains a one-game ban, even with an early plea.

Brisbane captain Jonathan Brown can accept a $900 fine for pulling the hair of Collingwood defender Harry O'Brien.

Earlier this month, Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne was fined for also pulling O'Brien's hair.

West Coast midfielder Adam Selwood can take a $900 fine for negligent umpire contact.

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