Port Adelaide forward Charlie Dixon will be unavailable for selection for the next three games after failing to have a suspension overturned by a SANFL appeals hearing.

Dixon’s three-game ban for a bump on West Adelaide’s Jordan White was upheld by the SANFL Tribunal on Wednesday and the club on Friday morning appealed against the decision.

The incident in Saturday’s win over the Bloods was graded by the Match Review Panel as careless conduct with high contact and severe impact, however Port Adelaide challenged the charge on the basis that the impact should be reclassified as high, rather than severe, and argued the suspension should be downgraded to two matches.

The club had pointed to Dixon’s exemplary disciplinary history with the 33-year-old never having previously been suspended by the AFL or SANFL.

Following Friday’s hearing, the appeal board opted to uphold the charge in its original form, meaning the three-game suspension stands.

Dixon won’t be available again for selection until Round 18 of AFL and Round 14 of SANFL.