An ugly incident involving Tristan Xerri and Andrew McGrath takes focus away from the North Melbourne Kangaroos win over Essendon Bombers
North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri will be sent straight to court and face suspension after smearing blood on Essendon captain Andrew McGrath’s face in the Kangaroos’ two-goal win on Saturday night.
North’s first win over the Bombers since 2016 was marred by an ugly incident involving the inspirational giants; match review officer Michael Christian faced serious misconduct charges when he revealed his findings on Sunday.
As Xerri grappled with McGrath, McGrath touched his bloody nose and then appeared to wipe his hand on the Bomber’s face.
The odd move kept the spotlight off Bombers coach Brad Scott, whose team’s improved performance was not enough to prevent a 16th consecutive defeat.
Former Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley was suspended from a game in 2002 for smearing blood on Geelong rival Cameron Ling’s guernsey in a high-profile case. Any suspension would result in Xerri missing a winnable Good Friday game against Carlton.
Under court rules, Christian has the power to refer serious acts of misconduct directly to the court.
According to the court direction, misconduct includes any action that is “reasonably considered unacceptable or unsporting, or has the effect or potential to cause damage to the reputation of any person, club or the AFL, or to bring the game of football into disrepute”.
Respected sports doctor Dr Peter Larkins and former St Kilda star Leigh Montagna are among those calling for Xerri to be suspended.
“This needs a definitive AFL response; we cannot achieve this without sanctioning the game,” Larkins wrote. X.
Xerri’s moment of madness came moments after he challenged the referee for a ball infringement free kick and was awarded a 100-metre penalty for being slow to pass the ball to Lachlan Blakiston. He then fell to the ground after being pushed by McGrath and hitting the oncoming Archie Roberts.
Amid the chaos, North’s forward was left unguarded in his 50 as Xerri, who suffered a bloody nose from the incident, recovered from the kick. He marked and scored from the Bombers’ turnover and it was thanks to Xerri’s push and shove after that goal that he made contact with McGrath.
Lyon said of Xerri’s actions after watching a replay of the incident: “The problem here is he’s telling McGrath he’s got a nosebleed and that’s what you don’t want to see.”
“That’s not what you want to see in the game.”
