Patrick Dangerfield will miss Friday night's big game against the Sydney Swans at Simonds Stadium after the Cats accepted his one-match suspension for rough conduct on Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer.

Dangerfield was cited by the Match Review Panel on Monday, with his tackle on Kreuzer assessed as careless conduct with medium impact to the head. 

The MRP's inital verdict was a two-match suspension, but Dangerfield has reduced the ban to one match by lodging an early guilty plea.

The suspension means the Cats superstar is ineligible to win a second successive Brownlow.

If the Cats had chosen to challenge the ban they would have risked Dangerfield missing a second match, with Friday night's clash against Sydney followed by a crunch game against top-four rival Richmond in round 21.

“After seeking independent advice, the club has decided to accept the penalty handed down to Pat by the match review panel,” Geelong’s general manager of football, Steve Hocking, said.

“The club reviewed all possibilities around the case in coming to this decision. We respect the fact that the match review panel has a challenging and difficult role and has to operate under high scrutiny.

“While there has been a lot of debate around Pat’s eligibility for the Brownlow Medal, Pat and the club have at all times remained focussed on what is best for the team as we head towards to last part of the season.”