Richmond vs. Adelaide news and updates: Tom Lynch apologises after wild punch
Tom Lynch has spoken after a wild punch on Jordon Butts which could have come straight out of the 1989 grand final, saying he has ‘got to be better’. See his full comments.
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Tom Lynch has apologised to his Richmond teammates for a costly on-field tantrum against Adelaide which could leave him at the mercy of the AFL tribunal.
Tigers coach Adem Yze said he understood the source of Lynch’s frustration and would seek clarification from the AFL over how the key forward was umpired in marking contests.
But Yze conceded there was “no excuse” for Lynch letting his emotions spill over in a series of altercations including a round-arm swing which made contact with the head of Adelaide defender Jordon Butts.
The second-quarter strike was the headline act in a string of incidents which could attract MRO scrutiny, and Lynch could be sent straight to the tribunal if the league deems there was potential to cause serious injury.
Butts fell to the ground clutching the back of his head after Lynch turned towards him and swung his right arm following a marking contest towards the halftime break, but returned to his feet to remonstrate with the Tiger and played out the remainder of the game.
The officiating umpire immediately placed Lynch on report, and the subsequent free kick was one of five he gave away in the first half as Butts, with the help of Crows defenders Josh Worrell and Mark Keane, prevented him from registering a disposal.
Lynch, who will face a minimum two-match ban if his strike is graded intentional and high contact, said after the game he had addressed Tigers players in the room minutes after the incident.
“I didn’t want to cause harm or anything like that. I was just trying to get free or whatever and frustration came out,” Lynch told Seven.
“Clearly … I gave away too many free kicks and it is not good enough as a leader. I thought we were playing pretty well in that second quarter and I pretty much stopped the momentum.
“(I was) more frustrated with how (Butts) was defending me, I thought. Clearly it was within the rules because there was no free kicks awarded to me. I went outside the rules so I’ve got to be better.”
Yze, who claimed he had not seen the second-quarter strike, said he had been frustrated with the Tigers’ possession being reversed twice in the term by Lynch giving away free kicks.
“Obviously in the moment as a coach, you’re disappointed … because (it looked like) we’ve got possession and we’re getting out, and we finally look like we’re about to execute and his frustration spills over,” Yze said.
“In saying that, we’re going to seek clarification on the marking contest, because it happens to him … he’s such a big man, and (defenders) do scrag him, and he’s feeling like he’s getting held.
“We’ve got to look at all those things and we’ve got to help him through that … no excuse with his response, but I can understand his frustration.”
During the first term, Lynch collided with Worrell on the wing before he appeared to make contact with the Crows defender’s cheek with his left boot.
Worrell, who was facedown on the ground at the time, said he had not felt any contact from Lynch’s boot.
“I didn’t … I went for a mark and he got me in the back with a knee when he was contesting the footy, but otherwise it was all right,” Worrell said.
“I think he’s a great player … we try to bring that each week, the ability to come off and help, but being really strong one-on-one is something we pride ourselves on.
“(The defensive techniques) haven’t been anything different to what we’ve been doing (all season).”
A suspension for Lynch would leave Richmond scrambling to replace two forward targets when it faces Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday, after Mykelti Lefau limped off the ground with a calf strain and was subbed out at halftime.
Yze said Noah Balta, who was thrown forward in the second half to support Lynch in the air, would likely remain forward against the Cats.
But the Tigers could be forced to get more creative in the following games against Essendon and West Coast with Balta sidelined due to his curfew – the final games he will miss before it is lifted on July 22.
CROWS PUSH INTO THIRD PLACE AFTER THUMPING TIGERS
— Ronny Lerner
Adelaide have moved up to third spot on the ladder after spanking Richmond by 68 points.
The margin flattered the Tigers as the inaccurate Crows missed a host of gettable shots on goal before running out 18.14 (122) to 8.6 (54) victors in front of just 23,231 fans, which was the lowest crowd for a match between these teams in 15 years (excluding COVID years).
Richmond have now lost their last three games by an average of 64 points and it look as though the young, developing team have abruptly run out of steam with eight games still to play this year. They have now suffered six consecutive defeats all up.
Adding salt to Richmond’s wound was forward Mykelti Lefau injuring his calf early in the second term in his first game back in over a year after recovering from an ACL injury.
In another performance which strengthened Adelaide’s top-four ambitions, they absolutely monstered their bottom-two opponents, finishing with massive buffers in contested possessions (142-114), inside 50s (59-40), scoring shots (32-14), overall disposals (396-307) and marks (127-68). They now have the best percentage in the league (139.8) as well.
CURTINS FOR RICHMOND
Crows youngster Daniel Curtin played the best game of his fledgling career, finishing with 26 disposals, eight marks, five tackles, seven inside 50s, two goals and four score assists.
Meanwhile, Josh Worrell was also influential, registering 24 touches and 11 grabs, and Riley Thilthorpe kicked five majors from his 16 disposals (10 contested) and six marks.
MIGHTY MAX
Adelaide defender Max Michalanney only had one goal from 59 games heading into the match, but was assigned a rare mission up forward, mainly to negate the influence of Richmond’s intercepting maestro Nick Vlastuin. In the process, Michalanney proved to be an unlikely scoring source with three majors, including a pair of magnificent long-range set shots.
CROWS WAYWARD EARLY
Adelaide made a dominant start to the game, racking up 18 of the first 23 contested possessions and opening up a big early lead in forward entries (16-5) as well.
But unfortunately for the Crows, despite restricting the Tigers to their lowest ever quarter-time score against Adelaide of 0.1 (1), they couldn’t make the hosts pay due to inaccurate goalkicking.
Straightforward attempts from Izak Rankine, Taylor Walker and Josh Rachele, in particular, ensured the Crows’ score at the first change was an inaccurate 2.5 (17).
TIGERS CHALLENGE SNUFFED
By quarter-time, Richmond had managed just 12 goals in their previous 10 periods, but they wrested back the ascendancy in the territory battle in the second quarter, lifted their pressure and went goal-for-goal with the Crows to start the term.
However, they couldn’t maintain the rage, and were overwhelmed by the far superior Crows who piled on the next six majors as their lead blew out to 70 points late in the game.
Originally published as Richmond vs. Adelaide news and updates: Tom Lynch apologises after wild punch
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