Essendon midfielder Jake Melksham has been offered a two-match ban for striking Richmond midfielder Daniel Jackson during the third quarter of Saturday night’s loss to Richmond.

Melksham was unable to have his two-match sanction downgraded due to a previous poor record meaning even with an early plea it stands at a two-match ban.

The Match Review Panel assessed the incident as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points).

This is a total of six activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Three Offence, drawing 225 demerit points and a two-match sanction.

He has a bad record of 93.75 demerit points carried over within the last 12 months, increasing the penalty to 318.75 points and a three-match sanction.

An early plea reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to 239.06 points and a two-match sanction.