ASKED if he was surprised to get a three-week suspension for striking, Jordan Lewis smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
Lewis faced news crews after training on Tuesday and took a second to respond when asked about the length of the ban: "I can't really comment on that, but yeah, it's unfortunate."
Lewis played down talk of an all-out apology to his teammates, but admitted punching Carlton's Patrick Cripps hadn't set a good example.
WATCH: Extra vision seals Lewis' MRP fate
"It wasn't really an apology, it was more of ... I'm sure we don't stand for this and I'd like to be out on the field and playing and participating," Lewis said.
"It's disappointing that you miss so much football, you've got to take account for your actions.
"There's not much more I can say, a bit disappointed in myself, and we've sort of dealt with it.
"It's probably disappointing from a club point of view that, as a leader, you're not really setting the right example."
Later on Tuesday night, Lewis told Fox Footy he had "gone through a lot of emotions" since the incident, but finding a way to have an impact from the sidelines was now his focus.
"Once you get through that first day and you accept the penalty, there's just got to be some sort of way that you move on in your own mind," the midfielder said.
"Otherwise you just mope around the club and that's not good for me, it's not good for anyone.
"I've just got to set myself for the next three weeks, how can I help the club off the field to prepare the best they can. That's the only way I can deal with it."
The 30-year-old said he was not bothered by criticism of his conduct, saying: "I know what I stand for, I know what I'm like as a person, what I'm like off the field."
Lewis would have risked a mammoth four-game suspension if he had taken his case to the Tribunal, thanks to a bad record.
Had he not had a bad record, the striking charge – which was graded as intentional conduct with medium impact to the head – still would have attracted a two-game ban with an early plea.
