By Peter Ryan
Richmond claim unfair attention directed to Tom Lynch in marking contests may have been behind the frustration which led to him throwing a wild punch at his Adelaide opponent Jordon Butts which hit Butts in the back of the head.
The second quarter incident – which is likely to see the forward suspended – occurred when Lynch’s marking attempt was spoiled in front of the Members’ Reserve as three Crows surrounded him.
After finishing the game with just two disposals from 112 minutes on the ground, Lynch admitted to Channel Seven post match he acted out of frustration.
“I was more frustrated with how he (Butts) prevented me, I thought, and clearly that was still within the rules because no free kicks were awarded to me and I went outside the rules, so, yeah, I’ve gotta be better,” he said.
Lynch lost his cool with the game well out of Richmond’s reach and his stats sheet empty, and apologised to teammates at the half-time break just minutes later for giving away unnecessary free kicks.
He threw a roundhouse punch, rarely seen nowadays, and struck Butts who fell to the ground. Butts picked himself up and kept playing and did not appear hurt as he helped the Crows to a 76-point win.
Tom Lynch wrestles with Crows Josh Worrell (24) and Mark Keane.Credit: Getty Images
Lynch continued to remonstrate with Crows players who rushed over as the umpire tried to quell emotions by reporting Lynch. He fought with Mark Keane and Josh Worrell as his emotions seemed to overwhelm him.
Lynch had been held statless until that point and had given away a free kick only minutes earlier when he slung the close-checking Butts to the ground before engaging in a push and shove with the Crows’ Sam Berry.
However, his coach Adem Yze argued Lynch had been subjected to unfair attention and should have received free kicks.
“His frustration spills over,” Yze said.
“But in saying that, we’re going to seek clarification on the marking contest because it happens through him. He is such a big man, and they do scrag him, and he feels like he is getting held ... we’re going to help him through that. [There is] no excuse for his response.”
Lynch argued with the umpire for several minutes after that decision. Television cameras also caught his boot making minor contact with Worrell’s head in the first quarter when the Adelaide defender, who was dropping into the hole in front of Lynch, was on the ground.
The Tiger, who is known for his white-line fever, remained on the ground after the incident with just two minutes remaining in the half before heading into the rooms to apologise to teammates for conceding five free kicks in the first half.
“He apologised to the group because he knew he let them down just by letting it spill over,” Yze said. “He’s got white-line fever and he wants to win.”
Noah Balta restrains teammate Tom Lynch on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
Lynch told Channel Seven post game he was disappointed by his response, but he wasn’t exactly sure what transpired.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure because I haven’t seen the incident,” Lynch said.
“That will play out over the next couple of days, I’m sure. You don’t want to go out and hurt someone, especially hit them in the head. We all know about the [importance] of that, so I don’t need to talk much more about that
“It’s disappointing, I thought my whole game was disappointing, and I need to be better.”
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks praised Butts for his ruthless performance on Lynch and the maturity of the team to not get sucked into fighting.
He said it was a great sign for his team when an opponent became frustrated. “There was some frustration there from the opposition which is what we want as a team,” Nicks said. “When our opposition are frustrated and angry, it means we are doing something right.”
Lynch got his first touch at the 22-minute mark of the third quarter when he handballed the ball which led to a goal to Seth Campbell. He had not even registered a tackle until that point. He kicked a goal in the final minute of the third quarter, and finished the game with just two disposals from 112 minutes on the ground.
His performance was the lowlight of a dirty day for the Tigers who had not lost to the Crows at the MCG since 2008 before yesterday’s game, which drew just 23,231 spectators to the home of football.
Myketi Lefau was subbed out before half-time with a sore calf in his first senior game back from a knee reconstruction and Nick Vlastuin had three goals kicked on him by defender Max Michalanney, who played as a defensive forward.
Michalanney brought back memories of Shane Ellen’s famous performance for Adelaide in the 1997 grand final when he kicked five goals against St Kilda. Michalanney had kicked just one goal in his 59 games before Sunday.
Dan Curtin was outstanding for the Crows just days after it was announced he had signed a contract extension. The second-year player dominated his wing, kicking two goals while captain Jordan Dawson, who is a Brownlow Medal chance, was brilliant as usual.
The Crows win puts them in third spot with five of their final eight games to be played in Adelaide, setting them up for a top-four spot.
Riley Thilthorpe is a star, and their defence was solid, with Butts showing no ill-effects from the incident and outmarking Lynch several times in the second half.
Richmond are battling to remain competitive but will recall Sam Lalor, while forgotten defender Josh Gibcus will play his first game for the season in the VFL. Both Luke Trainor and Jasper Elgar kicked the first goal of their career as they head to Geelong to play the Cats next week.
Freo beat Saints
Fremantle unleashed a final-quarter burst to overcome St Kilda by 12 points at Optus Stadium in the final game of round 16.
Fremantle’s Josh Treacy celebrates a goal against the Saints.Credit: AFL Photos
Saints coach Ross Lyon masterminded a 61-point win over Fremantle eight weeks ago in Melbourne, and another upset was brewing on Sunday his team opened up a 14-point lead early in the final quarter.
St Kilda dominated the clearances 39-16 across the opening three terms, but Fremantle won the key stat 15-7 in the final quarter to make their move.
Sean Darcy marked a low ball and kicked truly to start the onslaught.
Luke Jackson, Josh Treacy and Isaiah Dudley followed it up with their own set shots as Fremantle shot out to a 10-point lead.
The margin was pegged back to just six points with 49 seconds remaining when Mitch Owens snapped truly, but Fremantle won the next centre clearance and Jackson pulled off a stunning mark in attack to ice the 11.15 (81) to 9.15 (69) win in front of 41,600 fans.
Fremantle’s sixth straight victory improved their record to 10-5 ahead of a challenging away clash with Sydney.
St Kilda (5-10) fell further adrift of the top eight, in 15th spot.
Saints ruckman Rowan Marshall was superb, winning 10 clearances to go with 21 disposals and a goal.
Rowan Marshall and Jack Higgins lifted St Kilda’s spirits early in the game.Credit: AFL Photos
Treacy kicked three goals for Fremantle, and Jackson chipped in with two in the last quarter. Jordan Clark had a game-high 31 possessions, and a goal.
Much pre-match talk centred on whether Ross Lyon would send tagger Marcus Windhager to Caleb Serong or Andrew Brayshaw.
The answer was neither, with Windhager released of his tagging duties, and the likes of Jack Macrae and Hugo Garcia instead left to mind their more highly-vaunted opponents.
Brayshaw tallied 25 possessions and just two clearances, while Serong was restricted to 18 disposals but lifted in the final quarter to finish with nine clearances.
Lyon, the most successful coach in Fremantle’s history, was booed by home supporters when shown on the stadium’s big screen in the final quarter, in his first match against the Dockers in Perth since being sacked by the club in 2019.
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