Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos has admitted dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes deserved to serve a week on the sidelines for his high challenge on Eagle Adam Selwood on Saturday night.

Goodes was slapped with a level-one high-contact charge by the AFL match review panel but is free to line up against St Kilda at the SCG this weekend after accepting a reprimand.

But while pleased to have the veteran midfielder back on deck, Roos made it clear he did not approve of his star player's actions.

"I think it was an inappropriate action based on what we know about footy and a week would have been an appropriate penalty in my opinion," Roos said.

"As I said we were bracing not to have him for a week given the circumstances as they are with the tribunal."

Roos revealed he had addressed the issue with the dual Brownlow medallist and remains confident he will learn from the incident.

"I've spoken to him already and he knows that it's unacceptable and he needs to modify the way he does those sorts of things," he said.

"He needs to bend down and go and pick up the ball and if he had his time over again that's what he'd do."

But while he was willing to concede Goodes was fortunate not to have ended his consecutive streak of AFL games at 202, he rejected the notion the 27-year-old is a 'protected species' as labelled by Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Mathews earlier in the season.

"I think you've just got to understand the system, he's been reported and effectively he's been suspended for a game so if that's being protected that's being protected," Roos said.

"The fact is the way the system reads the penalty points from last year actually go after 12 months so I wouldn't be having a go at Adam."

"I think if you looked at the three (similar) cases last week and you put it in perspective, a week's an appropriate penalty which is what he got and he happened to have a reduction for an early plea."