MRO round 1 news: Justin McInerney, Jack Scrimshaw cop three-game penalties, Tom Lynch offered a week

Jack Scrimshaw and Justin McInerney have both been handed three week bans for incidents on the weekend, but a former concussion victim says he feels for the Swan after his ban.

Concussion experts and players who retired after repeated head knocks have expressed sympathy for Sydney’s Justin McInerney after he was forced to accept a three-week ban for an accidental head clash with Brandon Starcevich.

The penalty exposed a clear loophole in the AFL’s match review panel guidelines on a weekend where Hawthorn’s Jack Scrimshaw was handed his own three-week ban after opponent Jordan Ridley suffered delayed concussion.

Sydney chose not to appeal McInerney’s three-week ban given their legal experts said they had no chance of a successful case given the bump to Starcevich caused concussion.

The Lions defender was concussed in a brutal collision with Izak Rankine in round 18 last year and again in a more minor knock in the AFL community series games after being pushed into a contest by Adelaide’s Dan Curtin.

But even though Starcevich is clearly more prone to concussions, McInerney’s case was assessed as severe force given the damage to his opponent.

Former Collingwood player Chad Rintoul retired after a series of concussions and said on Monday night he felt for McInerney given it was not a hit delivered with much force.

“In the end I got knocked out with a butterfly landing on my head. My last game I got a little tap on the head and I was concussed. It was a Carlton-Collingwood game. And I knew I wasn’t right but I copped another knock and it floored me. My message to (Starcevich) would be to take it easy. Take a few weeks off.”

Jordan Ridley after incident with Jack Scrimshaw. Picture: Michael Klein

It is understood Hawthorn will attempt to downgrade Scrimshaw’s force from severe to high impact, hopeful of securing a two-week ban.

His swinging arm hit on Ridley saw his opponent play on until he suffered delayed concussion symptoms at half time and was subbed out.

The Dons defender suffered a 2021 concussion involving Eric Hipwood and a 2023 behind-play hit from Junior Rioli he suffered another concussion.

He played on until half time before suffering delayed symptoms and being subbed out, which saw Scrimshaw assessed as being culpable for the damage.

Richmond’s Tom Lynch hit Tom De Koning with some force to the jaw but he did not even require an HIA.

So Lynch has been hit with a one-week ban which he will contest at the tribunal on Tuesday night.

Former AFL concussion researcher Alan Pearce said Starcevich would clearly be more susceptible to concussions after repeated hits.

“What we see from the science is that anyone with a history of concussion is at a two or three-fold risk of further concussions,” he said.

“So you don’t need as much of an impact in terms of force. I am not against the AFL penalising players who cause concussion but how do you penalise players just because the person has a history as opposed to someone who has never been diagnosed. It’s very difficult.”

SCRIMSHAW COPS THREE MATCH BAN

Hawthorn will be without defender Jack Scrimshaw for the next three matches after the defender copped a big ban from the MRO.

Scrimshaw’s flying arm connected with Essendon’s Jordan Ridley during the win on Friday night.

Ridley was ruled out with a concussion, which did not bode well for Scrimshaw’s chances of a downgraded ban.

Scrimshaw will be sidelined with a concussion of his own after colliding with teammate Josh Battle.

The MRO concluded Scrimshaw’s striking yarn was careless conduct, high contact and severe impact.

Hawthorn is likely to turn to either Sam Frost or Jai Serong to replace Scrimshaw, with Frost the starting substitute in each of Hawthorn’s first two matches.

Jordan Ridley has been ruled out of the game following this incident involving Jack Scrimshaw.#AFLHawksDonspic.twitter.com/TPh8W9b3Ex

— AFL (@AFL) March 14, 2025

TIGERS’ MIRACLE WIN SOURED BY LYNCH BUMP BAN

Richmond forward Tom Lynch has been slapped with a one-week ban for a high bump in the upset win over Carlton.

The Tigers came back from 41 points down to secure the victory in front of more than 80,000 fans.

Richmond's Tom Lynch collects Carlton's Tom De Koning high.

But Lynch will spend round 2 on the sidelines after the match review officer deemed the rough conduct charge worthy of a week’s suspension.

It was classified as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact, and while Tom De Koning was fine to play on after an assessment, Lynch was still offered a ban.

Richmond faces Port Adelaide in round 2.

Originally published as MRO round 1 news: Justin McInerney, Jack Scrimshaw cop three-game penalties, Tom Lynch offered a week