Essendon captain Zach Merrett was has been cleared of wrongdoing over a tackle in the dying stages of the Bombers’ 34-point win on Sunday night.

Merrett was cleared for a tackle on Carlton’s Alex Cincotta in the last quarter of the victory over the Blues.

He will be free to face Fremantle in a fortnight, as the Bombers have a bye this weekend.

Meanwhile, St Kilda will challenge Dan Butler’s controversial one-match ban for rough conduct at the AFL tribunal in the latest test for the league’s crackdown on dangerous tackles.

Butler ran down Sydney’s Nick Blakey from behind and dragged him to the ground in an incident that was graded as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.

Blakey’s head hit the ground in the incident and he was substituted out of the game, but was later cleared of concussion.

Swans coach John Longmire confirmed Blakey’s toe injury and the 15-minute wait to complete a concussion test both played roles in the substitution call.

Hawthorn legend turned commentator Jason Dunstall said in the broadcast he would be “horrified” if Butler was suspended for the tackle.

It will be a busy Tuesday night at the tribunal after Hawthorn captain James Sicily and Richmond forward Rhyan Mansell were referred directly at the weekend.

Sicily, in his first game back from a one-match ban, was again charged with rough conduct over the dangerous tackle that concussed Brisbane Lions star Hugh McCluggage.

McCluggage was knocked out cold in the incident and didn’t move for almost a minute before staggering off the field with the help of trainers.

“I felt quite sick actually when I saw Hugh on the ground motionless,” Lions veteran Dayne Zorko told SEN on Monday.

“It was pretty hard to watch. I can’t imagine what his family and that were feeling like.

“That’s a tackle the AFL are trying to stamp out of the game. Every player is aware of that.

“You put players in vulnerable positions, they hit their head ... clearly that’s an action that the AFL doesn’t like.”

Mansell was charged over a high bump on Fremantle wingman James Aish as the pair chased a loose ball from opposite directions.