Hawthorn fails to have Jack Scrimshaw's three-match suspension downgraded at tribunal
Updated . First published at
Hawthorn Hawks defender Jack Scrimshaw has had his three-match suspension upheld after losing his appeal for the impact of his striking offence to be downgraded at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night.
Scrimshaw was initially handed a three-match suspension for striking Bombers defender Jordan Ridley during the second quarter of the Hawks' 26-point win on Friday night.
Match review officer Michael Christian deemed Scrimshaw's hit to be careless conduct with severe impact and high contact.
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Jack Scrimshaw and Josh Battle collide (left), and Scrimshaw walking off. Fox Footy, Getty
Following the incident, Ridley was able to play out the remainder of the second quarter before he was subbed out of the match at half time with a concussion.
Scrimshaw pleaded guilty to striking but challenged the grading of the offence's impact as severe.
The Hawks were fighting for the charge's impact grading to be downgraded from severe to high which would have reduced Scrimshaw's suspension to two games instead of three.
Scrimshaw appeared at the hearing sporting a nasty shiner on his left eye following minor facial surgery.
To speed up proceedings, Hawthorn's representative Myles Tehan chose not to call on Scrimshaw to give evidence. The 26-year-old had already provided an oral submission to the tribunal.
The AFL's lawyer, Sam Bird, reiterated that Essendon's medical report confirmed that Ridley will miss at least one match through the league's concussion protocols after being diagnosed with a delayed concussion.
Jack Scrimshaw had his three-match ban upheld for striking Jordan Ridley high. Seven
The AFL argued that while Ridley was concussed, the impact of striking is often rated high because of the offence's potential to cause serious injury to the victim player.
In response, Hawthorn questioned whether the outcome of a concussion automatically resulted in a severed grading. The club stated that no rule specified this.
However, the AFL pointed out that every offence which resulted in a concussion during the 2024 season was graded as severe impact.
The tribunal deliberated Scrimshaw's case for 20 minutes before agreeing with the AFL that the initial impact grading of severe handed down by Christian was correct.
"The fact that a concussion was suffered does not necessarily result in a grading of severe impact," tribunal chair Jeffrey Gleeson said.
"We note that the tribunal guidelines state that consideration will be given to the extent of force and in particular any injury sustained by the player offended against.
Jack Scrimshaw of the Hawks marks the ball during a training session. Darrian Traynor via Getty Images
"There's force to Scrimshaw's arguments that he slowed immediately before impact, some of the impact was body on body, impact to the head appeared to be from the inside of the upper arm, Ridley played on for a period of time after the impact only to be later diagnosed with [a] concussion and the worst injury that could potentially have happened did in fact happen.
"However, we find that the force of impact here was very considerable."
As a result, Scrimshaw will miss the Hawks' next three matches before he is eligible for selection. However, this will be further delayed because of the team's bye in round four and Scrimshaw's own concussion from the match which will see him miss one or two weeks.
The tribunal's decision followed Tuesday night's other hearings in which North Melbourne's Jackson Archer and Richmond's Tom Lynch's respective rough conduct offences were upheld.
