THE WESTERN Bulldogs are still seething over Lindsay Thomas' high hit on Lachie Hunter, with Marcus Bontempelli labelling the Roo's action malicious.

Hunter had just taken possession of the ball in the Bulldogs' backline during the fourth quarter of North's 16-point win at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, when Thomas rushed in to tackle him and caught him around the neck with his left arm.

The Bulldog was crouched with his head over the ball at the time and Thomas did not get down low enough to execute a fair tackle.

Bontempelli told Fox Sports on Saturday that Hunter, who had a game-high 44 possessions on Friday night, had been a "bit shaken up" by the incident.

"I think that's the first time he's been in that position," Bontempelli said. 

"It's really difficult. We didn't really like it at all, we thought there was quite a bit of malice in it.

"He will be OK, hopefully he can relax and be OK over the next couple of days. But we thought it was quite a bit unfair."

Thomas was not reported on Friday night but his attempted tackle is likely to be scrutinised by the Match Review Panel on Monday.