AFL 2022: Michael Voss reaches out to Tom Rockliff after spitting incident

Michael Voss has contacted Tom Rockliff and expressed his disappointment after being made aware Blues supporters spat at him and his young son.

Carlton coach Michael Voss has reached out to former Port Adelaide midfielder Tom Rockliff after he was spat at by Blues supporters as he left the MCG with his four-year-old son on Sunday.

Voss rang Rockliff on Sunday night to express his disappointment after being made aware of the incident, with the pair having previously worked together at Port Adelaide.

Carlton’s integrity officer also contacted Rockliff to investigate the incident and try and determine if a club member was involved.

However, given the incident occurred outside the MCG after the game, identifying the perpetrator is expected to be difficult.

A Carlton spokesperson said the club was disappointed by the actions of the supporters and they did not reflect the behaviour of the vast majority of Blues members and fans.

The AFL has been contacted for comment.

“Well done to Carlton, great game of footy,” Rockliff tweeted after the match.

“But what a way to be let down. Carlton supporters spitting at me when I am walking home with my son is not on. Passion is great but let’s remember it’s sport.

“I admit I was cheering harder than anyone at the ‘G and pushed it – but there is a difference between cheering and being spat at.”

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Tom Rockliff with wife Sharna and their son Jack. Picture: Russell Millard

Rockliff told News Corp on Monday that he was keen to move on from the incident and thanked the Blues for their concern.

“They’ve been really good and it’s not a Carlton thing,” he said.

“I spoke to Vossy. He called me (on Sunday) night. So it’s not any single club supporter thing. It’s just one of those things unfortunately that happens sometimes.”

The ugly incident comes as the AFL tries to attract fans back to the football, with crowd numbers across the first five rounds being below pre-pandemic levels.

A crowd of 33,433 people attended the Easter Sunday match between Carlton and Port Adelaide.

“The safety and security of patrons who attend matches across the country remains the highest priority for the AFL,” a league spokesperson said.

“The AFL encourages supporters to report any anti-social behaviour via stadium SMS services or to security guards or police officers at each venue, with those reports to be dealt with accordingly.”

Rockliff retired last year after 54 games with Port and 154 games with Brisbane after a 13-year career.

He is now working in the media, including writing columns for The Advertiser.

ROCKLIFF HITS OUT AT ‘DISRESPECTFUL’ INCIDENT

Rockliff had told foxfooty.com.au on Sunday that the spitting incident was unfortunate.

“I’ve got no issue with anything that gets said. But after it’s said and done and you walk out getting spat at, it’s pretty disrespectful – not only to me, but it leaves a sour taste in my son’s mouth as well,” Rockliff told foxfooty.com.au.

“I’ve always been at the footy and he’s been up in the stands with his mother watching and the first opportunity that I got to take him to the MCG – the colosseum of AFL footy – and for him to leave with that experience is really disappointing.

Well done to Carlton, great game of footy.

But what a way to be let down. Carlton supporters spitting at me when I am walking home with my son is not on.

Passion is great but let’s remember it’s sport.

— Tom Rockliff (@rockwiz38) April 17, 2022

“It’s not Carlton’s fault, to be honest, just those specific supporters that thought it was a good idea. They were very quiet in the second half but wanted to have a crack after the game, which is disappointing.

“They were very verbal inside the ground (during the first half) and I just covered up my son’s ears, but when you get a little saliva spat at you – whether it was deliberate or not, I would say it was deliberate and whoever it was would say it wasn’t deliberate – it’s not a great feeling.”

Rockliff said it was “really disappointing” to have a great experience for his son spoiled at the end of the match.

I will say this, I loved my fan engagement with @CarltonFC fans today.. (besides one engagement) passionate as any team. I wish you all the best and jump on the Blues Train if you not sure who to jump on

Just be good supporters

— Tom Rockliff (@rockwiz38) April 17, 2022

“You want people to go to the footy now and have fun, we know crowds have been down,” he said.

“But when you’ve got people acting like that, it’s not a great feeling to walk away from the game. If your team wins, fantastic. If your team loses, it loses. There’s no need to put your saliva anywhere near anyone else.

“I just want everyone to have a good experience when they go to the footy. People want to get into ex-AFL players or former footy people that have been at clubs and say ‘you don’t sit in the nosebleeds or in the crowd’ – well I took my son today to the crowd and, I tell you what, I’ll be very, very hesitant to do it again.”

HINKLEY NOT GIVING UP ON FINALS AT 0-5

Owen Leonard

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley insists the Power can still salvage their 2022 campaign despite being inflicted their worst-ever start to an AFL season.

Port sit at 0-5 for the first time since the club’s 1997 inception in a disastrous return from consecutive preliminary finals, losing their fifth match from as many starts on Sunday, despite a miraculous comeback effort.

Sydney are the only side to have featured in September after such a start, coming back from a 0-6 season-opening in 2017 to ultimately reach a semi-final.

Port Adelaide players after Sunday’s loss to the Blues. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Hinkley pointed to his first season as Power head coach, 2013, as evidence a run of five consecutive losses doesn’t necessarily rule a team out of finals contention.

“It’s enormously challenging, there’s no doubt about that. But I’m not going to give up. And the team won’t give up,” Hinkley said after the Power’s thrilling loss.

“You never know, we might get on a run just as big. My first year, we went 5-0 in the first five rounds. We then went 0-5. We made the finals.”

The team will prioritise a review of its ugly first half rather than its remarkable third and fourth-quarter efforts, Hinkley said.

“An honest football club will spend time on where you got beat – and that was the first half – and we have to spend some time there,” he said.

“As positive as the second half was from sticking at it, not giving up, keeping to the task, we can take something from that but we can’t deliver a margin of 50 points at half time in a game.”

Ken Hinkley says the Power can still salvage their 2022 campaign. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

The Power, conscious of Carlton’s tendency to fade later in games, were still confident at halftime despite facing a 49-point deficit, Hinkley revealed.

“We knew coming into the game that Carlton’s second halves have been quite different to their first halves,” Hinkley said.

“I’m sure they’d be aware of that, but we thought if we could get a bit of scoreboard pressure going we were still in the game. It seems a bit silly at 50 points down, but that’s what we believed.”

The Power are optimistic reigning Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines will be cleared to return to face West Coast at home on Saturday.