CARLTON coach David Teague says suspended defender Lachie Plowman would have gone against the wishes of fans, teammates and coaches if he pulled out of a contest that led to a two-match ban.

Plowman's suspension for rough conduct, stemming from a collision that knocked out Hawthorn's Jaeger O'Meara, was upheld on Thursday.

Plowman has a corked knee and so was always going to be an enforced omission for Sunday's clash with Sydney at the SCG, where Jack Martin will return from a knee injury and play his first game since round two.

Plowman is also no certainty of being passed fit for the following week's clash with West Coast.

But the principle of the matter still irks Teague, who declared on Friday the Blues "really fought hard because we thought it was in the spirit of the game".

"He said he went for a spoil and they said he chose to bump. We backed in our player, we believe it was a spoil," Teague said.

"We understand the importance of protecting the head but when you play a contact sport, we think there's going to be incidental contact at times.

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"It was disappointing. I don't think Lachie had any intent (to hurt O'Meara) at all. He would have tucked up sideways and really put a bump on if that was his intent.

"I feel for the players. Imagine if he pulls out and is getting 2000 messages on social media, his teammates are disappointed and as coaches we probably would expect that contest to occur.

"That's what fans go to the game for, those big contests."

Teague added the ruling would not change the way he asks players to attack similar contests.

"Play on instinct," he said.

"I'm going to keep encouraging our players to play tough footy but make sure the ball is the priority. It's something I think this group do really well.

"Every now and then, with the interpretations obviously changing, we may lose a player every now and again through suspension."

Teague admitted Plowman is also "disappointed" about the ban.

"He knows he went out to spoil," he said.

"He's a proud team player.

"He feels he's unavailable for two weeks and let the team down but we don't see it that way."

Teague, whose side departed Melbourne urgently and well ahead of schedule because of the city's COVID-19 outbreak, praised his charges for adapting "really well".