Essendon forward Jason Winderlich has been charged with striking Crows defender Luke Brown.

Brown was winded and forced from the ground after receiving a heavy and unexpected blow to his stomach in an off-the-ball incident in the fourth quarter at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Winderlich can accept a one-match sanction with an early guilty plea. Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from the Adelaide Crows Football Club, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point) and body contact (one point). This is a total of five activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Two Offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction.

Winderlich has an existing bad record of 70.30 demerit points carried over within the last 12 months, increasing the penalty to 195.31 demerit points and a one-match sanction. An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent 146.48 points and a one-match sanction.