St Kilda star cops huge ban after brutal bump on footy rival in pre-season match… but AFL legend does not get his wish for a 10-week punishment

St Kilda star Jimmy Webster will miss seven matches following his brutal hit against North Melbourne rival Jy Simpkin over the weekend.

Webster’s hit was reviewed by the AFL tribunal, and Simpkin was forced to retire due to concussion protocols during their pre-season match on Sunday.

The match review official rated the hit as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.

Kangaroos legend David King called for Webster to face a 10-match ban, but the court pushed for an eight-week ban.

The Saints suggested they would not defend the charge before the proceedings took place, but went on to argue that the length of the proposed suspension was “excessive and disproportionate in the circumstances”.

Club lawyer Adrian Anderson said a four-match ban was more appropriate, citing the ban imposed on Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper for a high hit.

But the AFL deemed the hit twice as bad as Powell-Pepper and Webster deserved a severe penalty.

The court issued its verdict after an hour of deliberation. After receiving a seven-match ban, Webster apologized and made a statement.

‘I deeply regret my actions in yesterday’s game. I reached out to Jy and I cannot understate my remorse. “My thoughts are with Jy and his family, and I hope he has a quick and successful recovery,” she stated.

‘I fully recognize the importance of protecting players’ heads and, in this case, I fell short of that much-needed standard. I will appear in Court and understand that there will be consequences for my actions.’

Elsewhere, North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was given a “please explain” following his “inappropriate” outburst towards Webster and Saints teammate Dougal Howard following the incident.

He reportedly used the word ‘c*******er’ during an expletive-laden exchange with the couple.

Clarkson apologized but could still face a fine or sanction, and new AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon was unimpressed with the outburst.

“Coaches or senior officials approaching players at breaks in the game is not something we want to see anyway,” Dillon said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

The Saints defender was in trouble for his late hit on the North Melbourne co-captain.

“When you layer what’s been reported, it’s language that Alastair has already come out and said is inappropriate, it’s something I don’t like and we don’t need it in our game.

“We don’t want to get ahead of the process, so what we do is offer him a ‘please explain’ and give Alastair the opportunity to come back to us.”

“We will speak to St Kilda and once we have all that information we will analyze it, compare it to our rules and then approach it that way.”