Footy great calls for star to cop TEN-WEEK ban following brutal bump that left rival concussed during practice match

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

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

The Saints dominated early and withstood a second-half fightback as they completed an 11.18 (84) to 10.5 (65) victory in their final pre-season home-and-away campaign.

But key defender Dougal Howard limped off late with a hamstring injury, and the Saints’ fallout is likely to 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 protest at Webster and a fight broke out across the boundary line as Simpkin lay on the ground.

The 25-year-old, who suffered two concussions last season, was attended to by medical staff before eventually leaving the field and quickly being ruled out of action for the remainder of the match.

North’s David King has called for Webster to take a tough ban following the incident.

‘Ten weeks. It’s that simple,” he said on Twitter.

“I just hope Jy Simpkin is doing well.

‘So unnecessary. I hope we’re not still having this conversation in ’24.’

“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 after the game.

“He will enter concussion protocols from here and we will have our doctors and our medical team take care of him.

‘They are doing very well with that and we obviously know what he has to go through to hopefully be available for the first round.’

St Kilda assistant coach Corey Enright said Webster’s bump was uncharacteristic.

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

“Hopefully he’s doing well and you never want to see anyone go down. We’ll deal with whatever comes out of that.

“(Webster) is a great person and he’s been in the game for a long time.

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

‘It’s a very fast game, faster than ever. These things happen very quickly.

“We can only take Jimmy for who he is and he has been a great character and a great servant to our club.”

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 left Adelaide’s Mark Keane concussed.

Collingwood great Nathan Buckley declared Webster’s bump ‘at least twice as bad’ as Powell-Pepper’s and questioned whether it would result in a much bigger ban.

St Kilda draftees Darcy Wilson (24 disposals) and Arie Schoenmaker (16) impressed in their side’s warm-up win, while former Port Adelaide defender Riley Bonner (30) and fellow playmaker Nasaiah Wanganeen-Milera (29 ) were also busy.

Max King, Tim Membrey, Mitch Owens and Cooper Sharman scored two goals each, and Liam Henry capped his performance with a brilliant goal in the final quarter from the boundary line.

North Melbourne trailed by 33 points at half-time and would have been further behind without St Kilda’s inaccuracy, but hit back in the third quarter.

They scored the first six goals after the main break, including three to Nick Larkey, to hit the front before the Saints steadied.

North’s No.4 draft pick Zane Duursma showed his strengths to score two goals, as did Cameron Zurhaar, while ex-Carlton playmaker Zac Fisher (36 disposals) and best and fairest winner Harry Sheezel (32) were busy.

Saints young gun Mattaes Phillipou sat out the second half as a precaution with a sore hip.