MELBOURNE will head to the AFL Appeals Board to challenge the Tribunal's decision to uphold the three-game suspension handed to forward Jacob van Rooyen.

The young Demon was offered the ban by the Match Review Officer for his swinging arm that collected Port Adelaide's Aliir Aliir in the head as he flew for a mark on Saturday night.

ROUND 24 Get your seats to Demons v Bulldogs

Aliir hit the ground and did not move for several seconds, before eventually being helped to his feet by trainers and walking from the field. However, he failed his subsequent HIA test and did not return to the field in his 200th game.

The Demons took their case to the Tribunal on Tuesday night and were unsuccessful, but will appeal the decision at the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday at 5.30pm AEST.

If van Rooyen and the Demons are unsuccessful in their appeal, the 23-year-old is set to miss the game against the Western Bulldogs in the final round on Saturday, as well as the Demons' first two finals.

At Tuesday night's Tribunal hearing, van Rooyen and the Demons disputed his action was a strike, maintaining he was merely trying to mark the ball.

"I was just going for the ball the whole time (trying to mark it)," he said.

"I was going for the ball and had every right to try and mark the ball myself."

However, the AFL argued that van Rooyen could've changed the angle of his left arm, which the 23-year-old disputed.

"Don't think so … by the time I've seen him, that wasn't enough time to get my arm out of the way."

After hearing all of the evidence, Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson KC and panel members Jason Johnson and Darren Gaspar were satisfied van Rooyen's action was a strike.

"The swing of van Rooyen's left arm, constituted the act of a strike. It was a forceful blow," Gleeson said.

"It was not simply a trailing or leading arm that Aliir collided with. We find that the strike was careless.

"Van Rooyen ran towards the ball with his eyes on the ball. Aliir came from the side and the vision shows that shortly prior to, at about the moment of leaving the ground, van Rooyen's eyes moved to Allir and the ball.

"Van Rooyen was initially intending to mark the ball, but we find that shortly before impact, he ceased to intend to mark the ball."

Van Rooyen booted two goals as the Demons ran out comfortable winners against Port to keep themselves entrenched in the top six with one round left and his absence is a massive blow to the Dees' hopes of going deep in September.

He has kicked 42 goals from 22 games this season.