Richmond’s Tom Lynch is free to play next week’s AFL preliminary final after he was charged with misconduct on Dougal Howard, but only received a $750 fine.
Richmond forward Tom Lynch has avoided suspension for dropping his knee on St Kilda defender Dougal Howard and will be free to play next Friday’s AFL preliminary final against Port Adelaide.
Lynch gave away a 50-metre penalty for throwing Howard to the ground, then dropped his left knee on the defender’s neck and shoulder area during the third quarter of Friday night’s game at Metricon Stadium.
Match review officer Michael Christian assessed the incident as a second offence of “misconduct” and offered Lynch a $750 fine with an early plea.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick had played down the “minuscule” incident post-match, while defending Lynch’s aggression.
The power forward has already attracted the attention of the MRO on several occasions this year but teammate Kane Lambert didn’t think Lynch needed a talking to.
“I am not sure that conversation will happen – I think Tom’s a mature guy and he reviews his game,” Lambert told AFL Nation on Saturday.
“Jack (Riewoldt’s) done a lot of work with him over the years, he’s growing in that regard.
“We love Tom playing aggressive and I’m sure that we’ll get a similar result for him next week when he’s hopefully lining up for us – which I think will happen.”
Lynch previously received a fine for misconduct on Brisbane’s Alex Witherden and two separate fines for striking Gold Coast’s Sam Collins and Jarrod Witts.
He was later sent to the AFL tribunal for a striking charge against Essendon’s Michael Hurley – and was ultimately cleared.
Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin caught St Kilda’s Zak Jones around the neck with a tackle in the second quarter, but the incident ultimately wasn’t recorded in the MRO’s findings.
“If your intent is just to tackle and it happens to slip high, then that is part and parcel of the game,” Cotchin told 3AW before the MRO findings came out.
© AAP
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