Footy Great calls for star to be suspended for TEN WEEKS after brutal hit left rival with concussion during practice match

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

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

The Saints dominated early and withstood a second-half comeback as they cruised to an 11.18 (84) to 10.5 (65) victory in their final preparation for the home-and-away season.

But key defender Dougal Howard limped off late with a hamstring injury, and the Saints’ fallout will also likely include Webster being sent straight to court for a late hit that left Simpkin dazed after kicking the forward line of North.

Kangaroos players rushed to protest against Webster and a melee spread beyond the boundary line as Simpkin lay on the ground.

The 25-year-old, who suffered two concussions last season, was treated by medical staff before leaving the field and was soon sidelined for the remainder of the match.

Northern great David King has called for Webster to receive a heavy suspension following the incident.

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

‘I just hope Jy Simpkin is okay.

‘So unnecessary. I hope we don’t continue 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’ll go into 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 obviously we know what he has to go through to be available for the first round.”

St Kilda assistant coach Corey Enright said Webster’s hit was offside.

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

“Hopefully he’s okay and you never want to see anyone fall.” We’ll deal with whatever comes up from there.

‘(Webster) is a great person and has spent a lot of time in the game.

‘As we know in football, it’s a step here or a step there.

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

“We can only take Jimmy for the person 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-game court ban for a concussive hit on Adelaide’s Mark Keane.

Collingwood great Nathan Buckley declared that Webster’s hit was “at least twice as bad” as Powell-Pepper’s and questioned whether it would result in a much heavier suspension.

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

Max King, Tim Membrey, Mitch Owens and Cooper Sharman scored twice each, and Liam Henry capped his performance with a brilliant last-quarter goal from the boundary.

North Melbourne trailed by 33 points at half-time and would have been further behind if not for St Kilda’s inaccuracy, but fought back in the third quarter.

They kicked the first six goals after the main break, including three from Nick Larkey, to take the lead before Saints steadied themselves.

North’s No. 4 draft pick Zane Duursma showed off his strong marking and kicked two goals, as did Cameron Zurhaar, while former Carlton playmaker Zac Fisher (36 disposals) and best and fairest winner , Harry Sheezel (32), were busy.

Saints youngster Mattaes Phillipou missed the second half as a precaution with hip soreness.