A dramatic turn of events unfolded during Sunday’s AFL match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Richmond’s Tom Lynch has been cited for striking Adelaide Crows defender Jordon Butts. The event took place deep in the second quarter of the game. Richmond lost by a demoralizing 68 points in the final count. This clash has captured the imaginations of many, clutching their metaphorical pearls as they denounce Lynch’s overreach.
The off-the-ball strike was certainly alarming. It just missed knocking me out cold, perhaps even permanently, for it would have meant serious brain injury had it found the particularly sensitive area of the skull just above the temple. Commentators noted that the epicenter of Lynch’s frustration had been simmering for a while. In fact, he had not registered a single disposal in the first two quarters and had conceded five free kicks. Richmond were down by 41 points at half-time, a lopsided scoreline that only seemed to add fuel to Lynch’s ire.
Former player and commentator Nick Riewoldt summed up the feeling about Lynch’s performance perfectly. To the naked ear, it might sound something like this… Joe Buck: Oh! Lynch has thrown one! This has been brewing, fellas, and he just tossed one. Riewoldt noted that Lynch’s mood was getting increasingly sour as the game went on. He recommended that the crash was bound to happen under the circumstances.
The longer we went into that game, the more frustrated I got that clearly Richmond’s coaching staff was not doing anything to stop it. Surprisingly, (Tigers coach) Adem Yze hasn’t removed Tom Lynch from the playing field to cool him down. Bennett said that during that time he’s been stranded on an uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous 10 – 12 minute wait. You can tell the red mist beginning to settle. Our friend Hamish McLachlan voiced this same worry. As one observer put it, “I’ve literally gotten texts from people on the ground saying Lynch is now capable of anything in the next little bit. All he really needs is to be put in time out.”
Erin Phillips, the other public commenter, echoed some of her concerns. She said she was discouraged that a player of Lynch’s talents would respond this way in the midst of his team’s struggles. She added that it was “more disappointing” for him to “break like that” during a stressful game.
More importantly considering Lynch’s case, the AFL match review officer will likely classify Lynch’s strike as intentional because of his off-the-ball nature. If they decided it was low impact, he would get a slap on the wrist with a one-week ban. A medium impact classification would lead to a two-week suspension. His pedigree as a six-time winning premiership player, at the club he now lords over, grants him immense sway from the top-down. This violation may prove to be fatal for Lynch and Richmond politically in the long run.
Riewoldt wasn’t devil’s advocating here—he said it would not be abnormal for Lynch to be sent straight to the tribunal for what he did. He made a show of being shocked. To put it bluntly, I expected that they would have gotten him off the field by now to save him from himself and spare Water Polo his legacy.
McLachlan noted Lynch’s visible frustration earlier in the game, saying, “Don’t allow him to do something crazy on a Sunday arvo here … I’ve never seen him angrier.”
