Maligned $6.5m Tigers star ripped for 'unacceptable' act, horror kicking in narrow loss to Blues

Veteran Richmond forward Tom Lynch was ripped over an "unacceptable" act and roundly blamed for the Tigers falling four points short of victory on Thursday night.

The 33-year-old spearhead had 10 shots on goal and finished the night with 2.7 against Carlton at the MCG.

According to Fox Sports, only 15 players since 1975 have finished a game with 1.7 on goal or worse. A late Lynch goal kept that grim record at bay and kept Richmond in the contest, but ultimately the Blues triumphed 10.15 (75) to 9.17 (71) despite kicking just one goal after half time.

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In the aftermath, Blues fans were thanking Lynch for his errant kicking.

"Tom Lynch, thankyou from the bottom of my heart," former player turned podcast host Dan Gorringe joked in a video to social media.

"Lynchy, I love you."

St Kilda legend Leigh Montagna said the Blues coach should be thanking Lynch, too.

"If I'm Michael Voss, I'm sending a bouquet of flowers to Tom Lynch's house," Montagna said on Fox.

"Richmond blew it."

Lynch joined Richmond in 2019 on a heavily backended contract said to be worth about $6.5 million in total.

Due to the nature of the deal he was reportedly earning upwards of $1.5m last season alone. He signed a one-year extension for 2026 but his salary for this season is unknown.

While he's been one of the AFL's highest paid players and is meant to be Richmond's forward leader, coach Adam Yze would not criticise Lynch following his MCG horror show.

"Harry Armstrong missed one from 15 in front – to focus on (Lynch's missed kicks) I think is the wrong way to go about it," Yze said.

"He'll obviously feel like he's let his teammates down. But we won't be working that way.

"His patterns and the opportunities to score is the main thing. It was just our execution on the day.

"It was really blustery. I think it's a little bit harsh (to put the blame on Lynch)."

While his kicking was ugly, it was an incident in the third quarter that drew the wrath of commentators.

Richmond's Tim Taranto was awarded a free kick inside the 50m and was lining up for a shot on goal, when the umpire blew his whistle for a free kick against Lynch in the goal square.

Lynch was tussling with Carlton defender Harry Dean when the Tigers star shoved his young opponent in the face.

Taranto's kick could have ultimately won Richmond the game but instead the ball was handed back to the Blues.

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes was dumfounded, especially given Lynch copped a five-game ban last season for punching an opponent.

"If you're a senior player and you're there to guide the young players, it is unacceptable," Cornes said on Seven.

"I don't care what level of contact there was. He missed five games through suspension last year.

"You've got to set a great example, and far too often in recent times his frustration has boiled over."

As for Dean, the young Blues star was happy to give it back to the notoriously hot-headed Lynch throughout the game.

"If you're going to give it to me, I'll give it back - it's straightforward like that," Dean told Fox Footy.

"You're not gonna cop it; obviously, you're going to give some back and show that you're not here to be pushed around."

The Tigers face Lynch's former team Gold Coast next Saturday.