KEY forward Chris Dawes has been offered a one-match suspension for striking Richmond defender Alex Rance.

Dawes was charged with a level three striking offence (225 demerit points, two-match sanction).

The incident happened in the first quarter of Melbourne’s 17-point win over Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.

In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.

Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from Richmond, the incident was assessed as reckless conduct (two points), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points).

This is a total of six activation points, resulting in a classification of a level two offence, drawing 225 demerit points and a two-match sanction. Dawes has no existing good or bad record. An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent to 168.75 demerit points and a one-match sanction.