PORT Adelaide defender Tom Jonas says he is "extremely remorseful" for his late hit on Andrew Gaff and he will accept any punishment that comes his way.
Jonas is set to head straight to the AFL Tribunal when the Match Review Panel hands down its findings on Monday afternoon, after he elbowed Gaff in the back of the head and left him unconscious.
The defender took the unusual step of speaking pre-emptively on Monday, telling an Adelaide media conference that he had contacted Gaff via text message and the Eagles midfielder had accepted his apology.
"Firstly I want to say how extremely remorseful and disappointed I am with the incident that occurred on Saturday night," Jonas said.
"You never like to injure or see another player injured in our game and that's not in the spirit of the game.
"I contacted Andrew straight after the game and he was good enough to accept my apology.
"I'll receive a sanction and I'll cop whatever comes my way and learn from it … hopefully I'm not going to be remembered for that."
Jonas said he got Gaff's phone number from teammate Brad Ebert, who used to play with Gaff at the Eagles, and sent him a text message because the midfielder "probably wouldn't be in the mood for a call from me".
Jonas hoped the incident would not be a permanent stain on his record.
"I don't think I'm a dirty player, but obviously I've opened that up to speculation," Jonas said.
"As a player I play on the edge and that's where my value to the team comes and I'm generally a tough and physical competitor.
"I don't kick flashy goals or take hangers or sell candy.
"I'm not making any excuses for what happened but you need to make decisions, and in this instance I made the wrong one."
Jonas said his immediate reaction after the incident was concern for Gaff and the realisation he had let his club and teammates down.
The 25-year-old has played every game this season and is an important member of the Power's back six with his ability to lockdown on a tall or small forward.
He said he was doing everything possible to earn back the respect of his teammates.
"They have a lot of trust in me and if I'm not out there for the next few weeks that'll obviously hurt them," he said.
"I'm also really disappointed with how I've let the club down."