Dees end skid with win over Kangaroos, with Tristan Xerri set to face MRO heat

Max Gawn said he ‘had to respond’ after Tristan Xerri’s wayward arm collected Tom Sparrow high, but Alastair Clarkson said ‘injuries happen’. Watch the incident and have your say.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has gone in to bat for Tristan Xerri after the Kangaroos ruckman’s swinging arm knocked Melbourne’s Tom Sparrow out cold at the MCG on Sunday.

While the hit didn’t seem malicious, as it appeared Xerri was either going for the ball or attempting to lay a tackle immediately after a ruck contest, it was a clumsy action and Sparrow had to be carted off by the stretcher.

Xerri will probably find it hard to avoid a suspension, but Clarkson defended the 26-year-old and highlighted the fact that Bulldogs star Ed Richards avoided a ban last week for his fend-off on Luke Davies-Uniacke which concussed the North midfielder.

“It’s pretty hard to go from competing in the ruck against big Max (Gawn) to then trying to lay a tackle within a split second,” Clarkson said.

Tristian Xerri's incident

“It’s unfortunate for Tom, but injuries happen. We had LDU (Davies-Uniacke) knocked out last week with an elbow to the head in a contest. It’s 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.

“Our view is that there was every intent on big X (Xerri) trying to lay the tackle and just didn’t have enough time to lay it in the correct manner.

“We’re all disappointed when any player gets injured, but it’s the game and there’s always things that happen like that that are just unfortunate circumstances that are the result of 18 bulls going at each other.”

The incident infuriated Sparrow’s teammates, especially Max Gawn who immediately made a beeline for Xerri.

Xerri tried to make his way over to Sparrow as he was being carried off, but was pushed away by Melbourne players, underscoring their fury with the North ruckman.

Gawn said after the match on FoxFooty that he “had to respond”.

“I haven’t seen any vision of it since. Xerri, I know as a ruck, he’s following up as hard as he can, and he’s the best in the comp at doing it, so there’s definitely an element of that,” he said.

“I thought it was high.

“Once I saw my teammate down I had to respond.”

For the remainder of the match, whenever Xerri was near the ball, Sparrow’s teammates went as hard as they could at him physically, particularly Jack Viney and Clayton Oliver.

“You love that about your team,” Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said.

“When you have someone that you care about and you love a lot, they stick up for them and the response from his teammates was outstanding.

“It looked nasty and clearly when someone goes down like that that you love and you care about like his teammates do, they’re going to rally around him, which they did.”

Goodwin said Sparrow was in good spirits after the game, but would be monitored closely by the club’s medical team.

“He’s up, he’s talking, he’s got his family and friends around him and obviously his teammates, but the pleasing thing is he’s up and about,” Goodwin said.

“He can remember majority of the game and that’s a good sign.”

Tristan Xerri checks on Tom Sparrow. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

DEMONS SNAP LOSING STREAK AS TEMPERS FLARE

Melbourne snapped their five-game losing streak with a 18.11 (119) to 12.11 (83) win over North Melbourne in a contest which was marred late by an errant arm from North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri.

Xerri collected Tom Sparrow in the face, knocking the Demon out cold instantaneously in the final term.

While the hit didn’t seem malicious, as it appeared Xerri was going for the ball, it was a clumsy attempt and Sparrow had to be carted off by the stretcher and in a neck brace with 7:43 to go.

As a result, Xerri will probably find it hard to avoid a suspension.

The incident infuriated Sparrow’s teammates, especially Max Gawn who immediately made a beeline for Xerri.

Tristan Xerri and Max Gawn of the Demons after a high hit on Tom Sparrow. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Tristan Xerri and Max Gawn of the Demons after a high hit on Tom Sparrow. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Xerri tried to make his way over to Sparrow as he was being carried off, but was pushed away by Melbourne players, underscoring their fury with the North ruckman.

And for the remainder of the match, whenever Xerri was near the ball, Sparrow’s teammates went as hard as they could at him physically.

As for the game, it was pretty tight in the first three quarters, with the margin rarely exceeding two goals either way, and when the Cam Zurhaar show kicked into gear, the Kangaroos had some serious momentum late in the third term.

The gun small forward exploded to single-handedly shift the tide in North’s favour with 3.2 from seven touches and three marks for the quarter to get his side back within three points.

However, Melbourne had the answers for most of the day whenever they were challenged, and they delivered North a mortal blow with seven of the next eight goals to lead by 40 points and end the contest as they thumped the Kangaroos in contested possessions 128-108.

Melbourne veteran Jake Melksham continued his remarkable late-career form with another five-goal haul.

For the first time in his career, the 33-year-old has booted at least four majors in three consecutive games

PETRACCA STARS

Christian Petracca had a big say with 31 disposals (14 contested), seven clearances and a goal, and Bayley Fritsch probably played his best game of the year, racking up 21 touches and three goals.

Meanwhile, Cooper Harvey was a very bright spot for the Kangaroos and showed he possesses the same goalscoring nous as his famous father Brent, kicking four majors from 13 disposals and seven marks in a breakout game.

NORTH WASTE CHANCES

After coughing up three goals in a row in the second term, the Kangaroos re-took control of play, but squandered their ascendancy, managing just six behinds, and another pair of shots from Paul Curtis that failed to score. The Demons didn’t need a second invitation to once again punish North for their wastefulness and they extended their lead to 17 points in the third stanza on the back of five consecutive majors.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 13: Paul Curtis of the Kangaroos marks the ball during the 2025 AFL Round 18 match between the Melbourne Demons and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 13, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

PICKETT OFF TARGET

Kysaiah Pickett might have just recently signed one of the biggest contracts in VFL/AFL history, but he looked anything but a multimillion-dollar man early in the second quarter when he first badly sprayed a set shot out of bounds on the full from 45m out in the pocket, and a minute later hooked another set shot from 15m out directly in front.

Originally published as Dees end skid with win over Kangaroos, with Tristan Xerri set to face MRO heat