MELBOURNE'S discipline problems continue to rear its head but Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall can see an upside for the Dees.

The seventh-placed Demons are set to lose veteran midfielder Bernie Vince to suspension for a behind-play incident. Vince has been offered a two-game ban for elbowing Adelaide's Eddie Betts during Saturday night's game in Darwin.

MRP: Vince banned, Dusty's tightrope

The incident was classed as intentional conduct with low impact to the head, but Vince's bad record - including being suspended for a similar incident in round one - meant the sanction was inflated.

Vince can also accept a $1000 fine for a head-high bump on Adelaide's Richard Douglas in the second quarter.

Hawthorn were famous for playing "unsociable" football during their premiership dynasty under coach Alastair Clarkson, and Dunstall believes the Dees can benefit from maintaining a similarly aggressive style.

"It's not great, but I see a lot of similarities between this and what Hawthorn went through when they were becoming a very, very good team," Dunstall said on Fox Footy.

"If you remember back to when it was branded 'unsociable football' - the coach wanted them to play uncompromising, tough, aggressive football.

"Players don't always get that right, and some struggle to find the balance between being tough and aggressive without transgressing, and that's exactly what's happening here.

"It means some of the others have got to step up, but it brought them all together and made them a very hard team to beat."

Vince is one of five Demons to be suspended for striking opponents off the ball this season, with Tom Bugg's shocking knockout punch on Sydney's Callum Mills by far the most serious.

The AFL tribunal last month slapped Bugg with a six-game ban, the biggest handed down in more than a year.

UNDISCIPLINED DEMONS

TOMAS BUGG: Serving a six-game ban for striking Sydney's Callum Mills in round 15
BERNIE VINCE: Served a one-game ban for striking in round one. Offered a two-game suspension for striking in round 17
JORDAN LEWIS: Banned for three games for striking Carlton's Patrick Cripps in round two
JESSE HOGAN: Served a two-game ban for striking Carlton's Sam Rowe in round two
CHRISTIAN SALEM: Suspended for one game for striking North Melbourne's Shaun Higgins in round nine.