Richmond's Rhyan Mansell has received a three-game suspension from the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.

Match Review Officer Michael Christian charged Mansell with rough conduct following contact made with Fremantle's James Aish in the fourth quarter of the Tigers' 15-point win last Saturday night.

The incident was graded as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact

Mansell pleaded not guilty stating he thought he could win the football until the last split second, and if he kept running straight on, he would have opened both himself and Aish up for injury.

Mansell's counsel Sam Tovey said Mansell was bracing but "not driving through in a classic bumping motion" and that his attack on the ball was legitimate and genuine. Who was going to get the ball was dependent on that final bounce, a reaction of two-tenths of a second for the ball bouncing to Aish.

"This is a genuine contest between two players going hard at the ball," Tovey said.

The AFL asked for a penalty of no more than three matches, arguing Mansell could have tackled Aish or slowed 'even slightly', and that at the point of the bump he was not contesting the ball.

After deliberating for more than 30 minutes, the Tribunal sided with the AFL's argument that Mansell was in the act of bumping Aish and suspended him for three matches.

"Although he approached the contest at speed, the vision shows that from a meter or two from the point of impact he turns and bumps Aish," the Tribunal said.

"It's important to note that under this provision, it does not matter whether the bump was reasonable or unreasonable. The only question is whether Mansell bumped Aish. We find that he did.

"This bump caused forceful contact to Aish's head. The question then arises as to whether Mansell was contesting the ball. We find that he was not.

"From a meter or two prior to the collision, he turned and bumped. His hands were not reaching for the ball."

The 23-year-old will miss games against St Kilda, Brisbane and Sydney, as well as the mid-season bye.