Richmond’s Tom Lynch takes ‘big swing’ at opponent with old school haymaker

A two-time premiership player is set to cop a big suspension after he took a swing at an opponent in an ugly, old school incident.

Richmond forward Tom Lynch can expect a lengthy stint on the sidelines after he unleashed an old fashioned haymaker on an Adelaide Crows player on Sunday.

Adelaide defeated the Tigers by 68 points at the MCG to consolidate their position in the top four.

Lynch was not enjoying the close attention of Crows defender Jordan Butts, giving away five free kicks to have an AFL Fantasy score of -15 at one stage.

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Late in the first quarter, Lynch lashed out at Butts after a marking contest, turning and whacking Butts across the face/head area, prompting him to fall to the turf in pain.

The umpire blew a free kick and Lynch engaged in some further argy bargy with Crows players.

Watch Tom Lynch’s strike in the video above

Tom Lynch is in hot water for this strike on Crow Jordon Butts.

The strike on Butts immediately caught the attention of Fox Footy’s commentators, especially given the turn-and-strike nature of the incident looked similar to Barry Hall’s infamous punch on Brent Staker.

Brad Johnson said in commentary: “Lynch is in a lot of trouble here. I’ve just see a big whack. It’s frustration.

“He actually got reported for the second punch – that first one was a free kick against.

“He gets in the scuffle again. He punches again. That’s where the umpire comes in and reports him on the spot.”

Dermott Brereton said: “He’s taken a big swing.”

Footy reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy: “He’s in plenty of trouble.

“I asked Tom Lynch a month ago about his reputation as a tribunal regular.

“He said ‘I’ve been suspended for two weeks across my whole career’ – I think he’s likely to double that.

“He does make contact there with Butts. You’d hate to think he could have followed through and really got him hard. “It’s clearly intentional, behind the play. Maybe it’s high impact.

“The look of that strike is something (MRO’s) Michael Christian factors in too.

“He’s had scuffles with other players as well – I don’t think there’s a lot in those.

“It goes without saying, he’s got to be better than that. His coach would be shattered – sometimes when it’s not going your way you’ve got to suck it up.”

Tom Lynch had a tough day at the office against the Crows. Picture: Mark Stewart

Lynch told Seven post-game: “I didn’t want to cause harm or anything like that, I was just trying to get free and the frustration came out.

“I gave away too many free kicks and was not good enough as a leader; said at halftime sorry boys, thought we were playing pretty well in that second quarter and it pretty much stopped the momentum.

“I was just more frustrated with how he was defending me, I thought. And clearly it was within the rules because there were no free kicks awarded to me and I went outside the rules. I’ve got to be better.”