However, his coach Adem Yze argued Lynch had been subjected to unfair attention and should have received free kicks.
“His frustration spills over,” Yze said.
“But in saying that, we’re going to seek clarification on the marking contest because it happens through him. He is such a big man, and they do scrag him, and he feels like he is getting held … we’re going to help him through that. [There is] no excuse for his response.”
Lynch argued with the umpire for several minutes after that decision. Television cameras also caught his boot making minor contact with Worrell’s head in the first quarter when the Adelaide defender, who was dropping into the hole in front of Lynch, was on the ground.
The Tiger, who is known for his white-line fever, remained on the ground after the incident with just two minutes remaining in the half before heading into the rooms to apologise to teammates for conceding five free kicks in the first half.
“He apologised to the group because he knew he let them down just by letting it spill over,” Yze said. “He’s got white-line fever and he wants to win.”
Noah Balta restrains teammate Tom Lynch on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
Lynch told Channel Seven post game he was disappointed by his response, but he wasn’t exactly sure what transpired.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure because I haven’t seen the incident,” Lynch said.
“That will play out over the next couple of days, I’m sure. You don’t want to go out and hurt someone, especially hit them in the head. We all know about the [importance] of that, so I don’t need to talk much more about that
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“It’s disappointing, I thought my whole game was disappointing, and I need to be better.”
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks praised Butts for his ruthless performance on Lynch and the maturity of the team to not get sucked into fighting.
He said it was a great sign for his team when an opponent became frustrated. “There was some frustration there from the opposition which is what we want as a team,” Nicks said. “When our opposition are frustrated and angry, it means we are doing something right.”
Lynch got his first touch at the 22-minute mark of the third quarter when he handballed the ball which led to a goal to Seth Campbell. He had not even registered a tackle until that point. He kicked a goal in the final minute of the third quarter, and finished the game with just two disposals from 112 minutes on the ground.
His performance was the lowlight of a dirty day for the Tigers who had not lost to the Crows at the MCG since 2008 before yesterday’s game, which drew just 23,231 spectators to the home of football.
Myketi Lefau was subbed out before half-time with a sore calf in his first senior game back from a knee reconstruction and Nick Vlastuin had three goals kicked on him by defender Max Michalanney, who played as a defensive forward.
Michalanney brought back memories of Shane Ellen’s famous performance for Adelaide in the 1997 grand final when he kicked five goals against St Kilda. Michalanney had kicked just one goal in his 59 games before Sunday.
Dan Curtin was outstanding for the Crows just days after it was announced he had signed a contract extension. The second-year player dominated his wing, kicking two goals while captain Jordan Dawson, who is a Brownlow Medal chance, was brilliant as usual.
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The Crows win puts them in third spot with five of their final eight games to be played in Adelaide, setting them up for a top-four spot.
Riley Thilthorpe is a star, and their defence was solid, with Butts showing no ill-effects from the incident and outmarking Lynch several times in the second half.
Richmond are battling to remain competitive but will recall Sam Lalor, while forgotten defender Josh Gibcus will play his first game for the season in the VFL. Both Luke Trainor and Jasper Elgar kicked the first goal of their career as they head to Geelong to play the Cats next week.
