Hawthorn’s Bid to Reduce Jack Scrimshaw’s Three-Match Suspension at Tribunal Falls Short

Jack Scrimshaw, a defender for the Hawthorn Hawks, has had his three-match suspension confirmed after his appeal to downgrade the impact classification of his striking offence was rejected by the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night.

Initially, Scrimshaw received a three-match ban for striking Essendon defender Jordan Ridley during the second quarter of the Hawks’ 26-point victory on Friday night.

Match review officer Michael Christian assessed Scrimshaw’s strike as careless conduct with severe impact and high contact.

After the incident, Ridley continued to play for the remainder of the second quarter but was substituted out of the game at half-time due to concussion symptoms.

Scrimshaw admitted to striking but contested the classification of the offence as having severe impact.

Hawthorn sought to have the grading reduced from severe to high, which would have shortened Scrimshaw’s suspension to two matches instead of three.

During the hearing, Scrimshaw appeared with a noticeable bruise on his left eye resulting from minor facial surgery.

In a bid to expedite the process, Hawthorn’s representative Myles Tehan opted not to call Scrimshaw to testify, as the 26-year-old had already provided an oral submission to the tribunal.

The AFL’s representative, Sam Bird, confirmed that a medical report from Essendon indicated Ridley would be sidelined for at least one match due to the league’s concussion protocols, following a diagnosis of a delayed concussion.

The AFL maintained that Ridley’s concussion played a role in the impact grading, arguing that such instances were often rated as high due to the potential for serious injury caused by the strike.

In response, Hawthorn challenged the assumption that a concussion automatically warranted a severe impact categorisation, citing the absence of specific rules to support such a claim.

However, the AFL countered that throughout the 2024 season, any incident resulting in a concussion had been classified as severe impact.

After 20 minutes of deliberation, the tribunal concurred with the AFL’s classification, confirming the severity designation made by Christian was justified.

Tribunal chair Jeffrey Gleeson stated, “The fact that a concussion was suffered does not automatically imply a severity rating of severe impact. We highlight that tribunal guidelines specify that the extent of force, particularly regarding injuries sustained by the player involved, will be duly considered.”

Gleeson added, “While Scrimshaw contends that he slowed just before contact and that part of the impact was made on body-to-body contact, with the hit to the head coming from the inside of his upper arm, he noted that Ridley was able to continue playing briefly after the incident before being diagnosed with a concussion later. Nonetheless, the outcome here is a significant impact.”

Consequently, Scrimshaw will miss the Hawks’ next three games before he becomes eligible for selection again. However, this timeframe may extend due to his team’s upcoming bye in round four, coupled with Scrimshaw’s own concussion sustained during the match, which could see him sidelined for one to two additional weeks.

This tribunal decision follows a series of hearings on Tuesday night, during which North Melbourne’s Jackson Archer and Richmond’s Tom Lynch also had their respective rough conduct charges upheld.