HAWTHORN skipper Luke Hodge will have to defy recent Tribunal history to have a charge of rough conduct overturned on Tuesday night.

Hodge was charged for his bump on Carlton defender Lachie Henderson in the second quarter of last Friday night's game at Etihad Stadium.

Hodge chose to contest the charge despite the Match Review Panel (MRP) offering him a reprimand for entering an early plea to the charge.

If the Tribunal upholds the charge, Hodge will be hit with a one-match suspension, although he would then be left with just 25 carryover points as opposed to 93.75 if he accepted the reprimand.

The Tribunal's recent record suggests Hodge's legal team will have its work cut out on Tuesday night.

Five players have contested charges this season and just one was successful, with West Coast captain Darren Glass escaping a charge of rough conduct against Port Adelaide's Paul Stewart in round five.

Players had a better time at the Tribunal last season, with eight of the 25 players who challenged MRP charges successful.

However, much of that success came early in the season, with five of the first six players who took their cases to the Tribunal beating their charges.

Brendan Whitecross (Hawthorn), Lindsay Thomas (North Melbourne), Steve Johnson (Geelong) and Greg Broughton (Fremantle) had rough conduct charges dismissed, while St Kilda midfielder Leigh Montagna also escaped penalty after AFL Tribunal counsel Jeff Gleeson SC elected to withdraw a MRP striking charge.

But after Broughton had his charge overturned in round six, just three of the remaining 19 Tribunal challenges in 2012 were successful.

The Match Review Panel classified Hodge's bump on Henderson at the lowest possible levels for conduct (negligent) and impact (low).

The MRP cleared Hodge of an earlier bump in last Friday night's game that left Carlton captain Marc Murphy with a fractured cheekbone. The MRP determined Hodge had no realistic alternative way of contesting the ball.

Hodge has been suspended four times in his career, but given his last suspension came in round 20, 2008, he will not incur additional points loading for a "bad record".

Hodge's case will be heard by the Tribunal at 5pm on Tuesday.