Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe will front the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday night to challenge the two-match ban he copped for striking Hawthorn’s Jordan Lewis.

Fyfe’s legal team failed in their bid to have the 22-year-old’s suspension reduced to one match at the Tribunal on Tuesday night.

But the Dockers will now appeal that decision with what they described as a “fresh challenge”.

If Fyfe fails to have the charge overturned or downgraded, he will miss games against Brisbane and Port Adelaide.

He’ll also have 76.25 carryover points hanging over his head for the next 12 months, plus a 40 per cent bad-record loading until early next season.

The Dockers sit just one win clear of the fifth-placed Power, meaning the round-23 showdown between the two sides is likely to decide who finishes fourth.

Fremantle midfielder Michael Barlow has already been ruled out of Sunday’s clash with Brisbane at the Gabba due to a broken thumb, but Hayden Ballantyne will return from a hamstring injury.

Dockers coach Ross Lyon said he would consider using forward Michael Walters in the midfield to cover for the losses of Fyfe and Barlow.

“I think Sonny will be a super midfielder one day for this club,” Lyon said.

“I think he’s clearly more than a small forward.

“His game sense and aerobic ability are of the highest order, and he’s so footy smart.

“Is it this week? Maybe. But he will be an elite midfielder by the time he has finished his career.”