Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell admits the block that earnt him a two-game AFL suspension was reckless.

Maxwell said he must make sure to avoid high contact when he tries to stop an opposition forward from running into attack.

The Magpies decided against taking Maxwell's case to the tribunal, in part because if they failed, it would have become a three-match suspension.

That would have meant Maxwell would still be out of action if they reach the grand final.

He will miss Saturday nights semi-final against West Coast and, if Collingwood win, the preliminary final against Sydney.

Maxwell clashed with Hawthorn opponent Paul Puopolo in Friday night's qualifying final, with the forward forced from the field with a bloodied nose.

The Magpies skipper is taller than Puopolo and that undoubtedly contributed to the high contact, but Maxwell said he should have played the situation smarter.

"I never set out with the intent of causing any damage, I wasn't trying to be aggressive, to hurt anyone, Maxwell said.

"But in the end my technique and the way I went about it was not good enough.

"In the end, reckless is probably the right word.

As a defender, I do it a lot in games, but I just have to be better at making sure that the contact isn't high."

Maxwell and coach Nathan Buckley also admitted that Collingwood felt they only had a slim chance of winning the case at the tribunal.

"If there was nothing to lose (in) challenging the findings, I think we would have gone down that path," Buckley said.

"The other part of it is working out your odds of getting a favourable result.

"Most clubs now are loath to challenge.

"You don't know how you're going to go, the odds aren't in your favour.

"In many ways, the system is pretty cut-and-dried - you take your penance."