MELBOURNE will be without livewire forward Kysaiah Pickett for its bumper clash against Brisbane after failing to overturn a one-match suspension.

The Demons fronted the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night in a bid to reduce Pickett's rough conduct charge for his hit on Adelaide's Jake Soligo from medium contact to low.

Pickett jumped off the ground and made glancing contact with his opponent's head during Melbourne's 15-point win at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

Though Soligo finished the game and subsequently played down the incident, Pickett was handed his third ban since the start of last season – this time for careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.

The club argued Pickett did not intend to bump Soligo but instead was bracing for impact, but Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson upheld the medium contact charge after less than half an hour of deliberation.

"The contact had the potential to cause injury. A concussion or facial injury was a realistically possible outcome," Gleeson said on Tuesday.

"The impact to Soligo's head was plain to see. He was knocked off his feet and immediately held his face in obvious pain or discomfort."

Pickett did not face the Tribunal but submitted a written statement.

"I was tracking the ball after the centre bounce and was moving towards it when Jake Soligo took possession," the 22-year-old said in the statement.

"When I got close, I raised both of my arms in the air and reached to intercept the ball after Soligo handballed.

"My intention was to catch the ball. I collided with Soligo and then followed the ball to make the next contest until the umpire blew the whistle.

"I had no intention of bumping Jake Soligo. I was trying to intercept the ball in the air."

Pickett sat out two games last season for a high hit on Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith and another match for bumping Carlton captain Patrick Cripps in the head during last year's semi-final.

The ruling comes a month after Pickett's teammate Angus Brayshaw was forced into premature retirement because of concussion.

Brayshaw, 28, was concussed multiple times throughout his career, most recently in a collision with Collingwood's Brayden Maynard during last year's finals.