Jimmy Webster tipped to go straight to AFL tribunal after high shot on Jy Simpkin

St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster faces almost certain suspension for a high bump on North Melbourne co-captain Jy Simpkin in an AFL practice match.

Webster leapt off the ground and collected Simpkin’s head with a hip-and-shoulder bump during the first quarter of the clash at RSEA Park on Sunday.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was forced to apologise on Monday after becoming involved in a heated exchange with Saints players after the Webster incident.

“I was deeply disturbed seeing our captain Jy Simpkin forced from the field as a result of a heavy collision just before quarter-time,” Clarkson said.

“Jy has had a great pre-season and has now had three concussions in 12 months and I was so disappointed to see him leave the field in that way.

“At the quarter-time break, I voiced my displeasure to St Kilda players Jimmy Webster and Dougal Howard as they made their way to the quarter time huddle. This was an exchange that was emotional in defence of our captain, but unnecessary and the language I used was inappropriate.

“I have reached out to Ross Lyon and both the St Kilda players to apologise.”

Webster’s hit kicked off a scuffle on the boundary line as trainers helped Simpkin (left).(Getty Images: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos)

The Saints dominated early and resisted a second-half fightback as they squeezed out an 11.18 (84) to 10.5 (65) win in their final tune-up for the home-and-away season.

But key defender Dougal Howard limped off late with a hamstring injury, and the Saints’ fall-out will also likely include Webster being sent straight to the tribunal for a late bump that left Simpkin dazed after kicking into North’s forward line.

Kangaroos players rushed to remonstrate with Webster and a melee spilled over the boundary line while Simpkin lay on the ground.

The incident came less than a week after Port Adelaide forward Sam Powell-Pepper was handed a four-match ban at the tribunal for a bump that concussed Adelaide’s Mark Keane.

Collingwood great Nathan Buckley declared Webster’s bump “at least twice as bad” as Powell-Pepper’s and pondered whether it would result in a much larger suspension.

Simpkin, who was concussed twice last season, was attended to by medical staff before eventually walking off the field and was soon ruled out of action for the rest of the match.

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“I just saw [Simpkin] then and he seemed fine. He watched the game from the bench in the second half,” Kangaroos assistant coach Xavier Clarke said post-match.

“He’ll enter concussion protocols from here and we’ll let our doctors and our medical team take care of him.

“They do a really good job with that and we obviously know what he has to go through hopefully to be available for round one.”

St Kilda assistant coach Corey Enright said Webster’s bump was out of character.

“He’s obviously shown some remorse there and I guess our thoughts are with the North Melbourne player in Simpkin,” Enright said.

“Hopefully he’s going to be OK and you never want to see anyone go down. We’ll deal with whatever comes out of it from there.

“[Webster] is a great person and he’s had a long time in the game.

“As we know with football, it’s one step here or one step there.

“It’s a really fast game, faster than ever. These things happen really quickly.

“We can only take Jimmy for the person that he is and he’s been a great character and great servant for our club.”

Protecting the heads of AFL players was cast into the spotlight when 28-year-old Demons star Angus Brayshaw was forced into retirement by repeated concussions, the last of which was caused by a high shot for which Brayden Maynard received no suspension.

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AAP