Collingwood player Tarni White has failed to overturn her three-match ban at the AFL Tribunal for bumping Sydney's Maddy Collier.
Tuesday night's unsuccessful hearing means White, who pleaded not guilty, will miss out on more than a quarter of the women's competition.
She will be unavailable for matches against Hawthorn, Brisbane and West Coast in the 11-round regular season.
The midfielder was suspended for bumping Collier in the season opener against the Swans.
Collier, in her first game since recovering from an ACL injury, was flattened by White after kicking the ball from half-back in the third quarter.
The bump was classified as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
The AFL argued for the three-match suspension given the bump was executed with excessive force on a vulnerable opponent and White was not contesting the ball.
White said in evidence she was unable to tackle or smother safely given her trajectory towards Collier.
"If I pulled up, I reckon I would have done more damage because I would have been in more of an upwards stance," White said on Tuesday.
"We probably would have collided heads front on or from the 45-degree.
"Because I was coming on from a little bit of a further distance, I opted to bump instead of smother.
"If I smothered I would have taken her legs out. Tackling would have been more of an unsafe approach for Maddy and for myself.
"I've been playing AFLW for six years and (Australian rules football) since I was nine. I'm currently 23 so I'm fully aware (of the duty of care)."
Collingwood counsel Myles Tehan added the option to take other action doesn't render White's bump as inherently unreasonable.
"Bumping is part of the game. It's permitted by the rules," Tehan said.
But the Tribunal upheld the ban after almost 90 minutes of deliberation.
"A reasonable player would not consider it prudent to bump an opponent with excessive force after she's disposed of the ball," Tribunal chair Renee Enbom KC said.
Sydney coach Scott Gowans earlier in the day said using the men's judiciary system for the AFLW is "questionable" given the shorter length of the women's competition.
Brisbane defender Dee Heslop was banned last season for the same length in a massive blow to her finals aspirations, equalling the rough conduct sanction given to Adelaide's Najwa Allen.
"If you compare it to the whole season, it seems long," Gowans said on Tuesday.
"I haven't really thought about it too much, but my initial reaction was probably whether we follow the men's protocols to the letter with suspensions.
"It is probably questionable."
Collier will miss out on at least one match after entering the AFL concussion protocols.
