Hawthorn Hawks defender Jack Scrimshaw has had his three-match suspension upheld after an unsuccessful appeal at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night. Scrimshaw was initially penalised for striking Essendon’s Jordan Ridley during the Hawks’ 26-point victory on Friday, with the match review officer classifying the misconduct as careless conduct with severe impact.
Ridley managed to continue playing until half-time, when he was eventually substituted due to a concussion. Scrimshaw pleaded guilty to the charge but contested the severity of the impact, hoping to have it lowered from severe to high, which would have reduced his suspension to two matches. At the hearing, which saw Scrimshaw appear with a visible bruise around his eye due to minor facial surgery, Hawthorn opted not to call him for further testimony as he had already provided an oral submission.
The AFL’s legal representative cited a medical report from Essendon confirming that Ridley would miss at least one match owing to the league’s concussion protocols, stating that such incidents typically warrant a severe impact grading due to the risk of serious injury to the affected player. Hawthorn argued that the mere outcome of a concussion should not automatically dictate a severe grading, but the AFL countered that all concussion-related offences during the current season have been classified as severe.
After deliberating for 20 minutes, the tribunal upheld the original grading, with chair Jeffrey Gleeson stating that while the outcome does not itself dictate the grading, it is critical to consider the extent of force and the injury sustained. Despite acknowledging Scrimshaw’s arguments, the tribunal determined that the force of the impact was considerable.
As a result, Scrimshaw will miss the next three matches; however, with the team’s bye in round four and his own concussion sustained during the match, he may be out for one or two additional weeks. The tribunal’s decision came alongside other rulings regarding rough conduct charges from North Melbourne’s Jackson Archer and Richmond’s Tom Lynch.