By Marnie Vinall
St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster has been handed a seven-game suspension for rough conduct after pleading guilty to all aspects of the charge.
After an hour of deliberations, the tribunal found Webster acted with an intention to bump “at the highest end of careless” and “entirely avoidable” as Jy Simpkin was vulnerable and not in a position to protect himself.
Webster was referred to the tribunal after his high bump on the Kangaroos co-captain Simpkin during the first quarter of last Sunday’s practice match, which ruled the Kangaroo star out with concussion.
Webster left the ground as he bumped Simpkin, catching him late and high. The MRO graded the act as rough conduct that was careless, high contact and severe impact.
Jimmy Webster is in trouble for this bump on Jy Simpkin.Credit: Fox Footy
Andrew Woods, on behalf of the AFL, argued for an eight-match ban, taking into account no levy for the Saints player making an argument against the allegations and the remorse shown by the player.
Adrian Anderson, on behalf of St Kilda, argued an eight-match ban would be excessive and disproportionate sanction given the unintentional and careless nature of the action, as opposed to Andrew Gaff’s eight-match ban in 2018 for striking of Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw, which was a “deliberate act that smashed his opponent’s jaw.”
Webster is the second player to be suspended before the season’s start after Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper received a four-match ban for rough conduct for his high bump concussed Adelaide defender Mark Keane during the first quarter of their match simulation.
Anderson also argued Webster’s incident was very comparable to the Powell-Pepper incident and a similar length ban would be an appropriate sanction. However, Woods argued against this as Webster had opportunity to adopt a different action and the potential to cause injury was higher.
Webster, who accepted the charge, was frank with his evidence at the tribunal claiming he wasn’t proud and repeated that he didn’t have any excuses for the actions, including in leaving the ground.
“I’m really sorry about what happened on Sunday. It’s something I’m not proud of [and] I’ve let a lot of people down. I don’t really have an excuse as to why,” Webster said.
Jy Simpkin is taken off the ground on Sunday following the heavy hit he copped from St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster.Credit: Getty
“It’s such a quick decision and clearly I got it wrong.”
Webster also echoed his statement on Monday, stressing the importance of protecting player’s heads: “I understand how bad concussions are and how much we want to see them stamped out.”
It is Simpkin’s third concussion within 12 months, fourth in his career, which has ruled him out of North Melbourne’s round-one clash against Greater Western Sydney on March 16. The club’s general manager of football Todd Viney said the player’s health and well-being was their number on priority.
“Given Jy’s concussion history, our medical team will take a conservative approach to his management and recovery as per the AFL’s concussion protocols,” said Viney.
“Jy came into the club today, he’s doing well and is in good spirits but his official return-to-play timeline is unclear at this point as it depends on his progress.”
Jimmy Webster of St Kilda was hit with a lengthy ban.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
The incident prompted a slew of impassioned responses from the wider AFL community, with ex-North Melbourne player David King claiming it warranted a 10-match ban and Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley saying eight matches would be the “median”.
“I think the change in community standards we saw with the Powell-Pepper decision – four weeks is a big whack – and he got that for something that might’ve got off 12 months ago,” the former Magpies coach said on Fox Footy. “I think it’s going to be a big whack (for Webster). I reckon eight is about the median it would be.”
Former Melbourne and North Melbourne player Shaun Smith, who suffered repeated concussions throughout his playing career and was awarded a $1.4 million insurance payout for concussions damages in 2020, said Webster should have “the book thrown at him”, agreeing with King’s 10-match suggestion.
“I’ve been on the receiving end of a couple of those [hits]. And for me, it’s just a coward’s act. It’s not tough … He could have easily avoided it. He could have tackled him, he could have just pushed him over. Not left the ground with his shoulder leading into his [Simpkin’s] face,” said Smith.
“Everyone is focusing on the hit. I’m more worried about Jy’s health rather than the hit. We’ve got to be better at that. We’ve got to look at the whole thing but if there is an incident, there’s going to be some rogue incidents … it’s how we deal with it after and talking about playing round one, it’s not the dialogue we want to hear [opposed to adequate treatment for a brain injury].”
Webster’s action reignited the red card system argument, as Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy told 3AW actions such as Webster’s hit on Simpkin should warrant the offending player be immediately sent off.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said ahead of the tribunal there was a “real concern for Jy” and that Webster’s action were impermissible.
“We understand it is going to be a significant ban and as a coach you don’t want to lose one of your really good players, but you’ve got to pay a price and he understands that,” Lyon told the AFL website.
“The bottom line is it was an unacceptable action on a footy field.”
North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri and Bailey Scott and St Kilda’s Liam Henry and Rowan Marshall were handed fines for their part in a scuffle between the sides following the incident. Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson apologised for verbally abusing Webster in an expletive-ridden, quarter-time spray.
Smith declined to comment on the situation of his son, Joel, a Melbourne player who was alleged by Sport Integrity Australia to have breached the AFL’s anti-doping code in September 2022 by “selling, giving, transporting, sending, delivering or distributing” cocaine to others.
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