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A North Melbourne ruckman is facing a potential ban after making high contact on Melbourne star Tom Sparrow, which knocked the Demons midfielder out cold.
The AFL’s concussion protocols will now be in the spotlight once again, as Melbourne ended a five-game losing streak with an 18.11 (119) to 12.11 (83) victory at the MCG on Sunday.
Sparrow had recovered the ball off the top of a hit-out by Xerri. But as he moved to dispose of the footy to a teammate, the North Melbourne ruckman raised his forearm and caught Sparrow in the head.
His Melbourne team-mates were furious about Xerri’s act, with captain Max Gawn immediately turning to remonstrate with Xerri, with a brawl ensuing.
‘Once I saw my team-mate down, I had to respond,’ Gawn told Fox Footy after the incident.
Tristan Xerri (No 38) is facing a potential ban after he appeared to strike Melbourne’s Tom Sparrow in the face, knocking the Demon’s star out
Concerning scenes unfolded as Sparrow fell lifelessly to the floor after the hit. Xerri (right) had also checked on the footy star to make sure he was OK
‘I thought it was high,’ he added.
‘I haven’t seen any vision of it since. Xerri, I know as a ruck, he’s following up [from a ruck contest] as hard as he can, and he’s the best in the comp at doing it, so there’s definitely an element of that.’
After the sickening collision, Sparrow remained on the field for some time, before being taken into the medical rooms on a stretcher.
Promisingly, the footy star did give a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was removed from the pitch.
Several stars from the footy world were critical of Xerri’s act, including Cameron Mooney.
‘That’s reckless… he’ll get some time [suspension] for that,’ Mooney said.
I don’t think it was anything untoward for it, but he’s got it wrong.
‘If the ball’s there, your natural reaction is to flick an arm or hand at it.
A large brawl ensued after the high shot on Sparrow, with Max Gawn stating he felt he had to stand up for his injured team-mate
Commentators on Fox Footy described Xerri’s high hit as ‘reckless’ with the AFL now set to review the incident
‘I think that’s what he’s tried to do but he’s just missed it and got him high.’
North boss Alastair Clarkson
defended Xerri’s actions following the match.
‘It’s unfortunate,’ he said.
‘The collision comes down from a ruck contest and it’s pretty hard to go for, it’s hard to compete in the ruck against big Max to compete in a tackle within a split second.
‘It’s unfortunate for Tom but injuries happen… We had LD [Luke Davies-Uniacke] knocked out last week with an elbow to the head.
‘Just swings and roundabouts. When it’s a competitive game of footy and there’s a lot of numbers around the ball, sometimes accidents like that are going to happen.’
Clarkson then admitted that he hadn’t seen Xerri after the match, but added: ‘Our view is that there was every intent on Big X trying to lay the tackle and just didn’t have enough time to lay it in the correct manner.’
North boss, Alastair Clarkson, stood by his ruckman, stating he had ‘very little time to prepare for the collision’
Clarkson re-emphasised that Xerri had ‘very little time’ to prepare for the collision.
‘We are all disappointed when any player gets injured, but it’s the game. There is always unfortunate things like that that happen and it’s just the result of 18 bulls going at each other.
While the incident marred the win for Melbourne, in-form veteran Jake Melksham kicked an equal career-best five goals to seal the 36-point win.
Melksham and Christian Petracca (31 disposals, one goal) were both standouts in what was Melbourne’s first win since beating Sydney at the MCG on May 25.
The Demons (6-11) now sit 13th, while North (4-12-1) are third-from-bottom.
Melksham also looked in trouble after high contact from North defender Wil Dawson left him nursing a sore head and shoulder before half-time.
But the 33-year-old passed a head injury assessment and added four goals after half-time as the Demons resisted a Cam Zurhaar-led surge by the Kangaroos.
Zurhaar kicked three goals in the third quarter, dragging the Kangaroos within three points before Melbourne steadied and finished full of running.
Jake Melksham kicked an equal career-best five goals to seal the 36-point win at the MCG
Christian Salem (25 touches), Harvey Langford (24) and Clayton Oliver (21) were influential in a largely scrappy affair, while Bayley Fritsch kicked three goals.
The final margin made for a 95-point turnaround from the last time the teams met, when the Kangaroos were comprehensive winners in round two.
North were well-served by Colby McKercher (29 disposals), Harry Sheezel (29) and returning veteran Luke Parker (27).
Cooper Harvey, son of club legend Brent, kicked four goals and Jack Darling matched Zurhaar’s contribution with three.
