St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary admits Marc Murphy sledging went too far

CARLTON captain Marc Murphy has hit out at “hurtful” commentary regarding his wife Jessie as St Kilda conceded vicious sledging at Etihad Stadium on Saturday had crossed the line.

Jarryn Geary says he has phoned Jarryn Geary to apologise. Picture: Michael Klein

• CANCER SHOCK: DEMONS STAR TO UNDERGO SURGERY

CARLTON captain Marc Murphy has hit out at “hurtful” commentary regarding his wife Jessie as St Kilda conceded vicious sledging at Etihad Stadium on Saturday had crossed the line.

St Kilda skipper Jarryn Geary said some of his teammates had “probably overstepped the mark” in exchanges that sparked a wild melee.

Murphy on Monday night hit out at a social media furore that has ensued.

“I would like to respond to highly inappropriate social media commentary that has escalated in the past few days,” he said.

NOT IMPRESSED: ROOS SLAMS SLAMMING OF MURPHY

TRASH TALK: WHEN SLEDGING GOES TOO FAR

DES HEADLAND: ‘ONE OF THE HARDEST TIMES IN MY CAREER’

“I want to be clear that these comments are untrue, hurtful to my wife and family and show a lack of respect to women.

“We would like to move on and will not be making any further comment.”

Neither Carlton nor St Kilda would confirm the precise nature of the on-field exchanges.

Marc Murphy and wife Jessie. Picture: Lucua Dawson (Supplied/Lavazza)

pic.twitter.com/BJu0e1VvLb

— Marc Murphy (@marcmurphy3) 15 May 2017

Geary said he had phoned Murphy on Monday to apologise on behalf of his club.

“I’ve left a message with Marc and will follow up in the next few days,” he said.

“We’ve addressed it as a group and acknowledged that a couple of the back and forths from Saturday probably overstepped the mark.

“What was said will remain private and I know both clubs are pretty keen to move and that’s what we’re focused on now.”

An exchange of sledges between Saints and Blues players reached flashpoint after Murphy ran to abuse a prone Jake Carlisle after he suffered a heavy knock.

Murphy was adamant that Carlton officials should not lay a complaint with the AFL but remains angry at the reference to a family member made by at least one St Kilda player.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson has declared he wants his team’s football to do the talking in the wake of the drama.

Richardson reached out to Murphy on Monday after his team “didn’t quite get things right” in sledging the Carlton skipper.

“It was an aggressive game — a game that boiled over at one stage,” Richardson said.

“And yeah, there was a couple of things that were said … a bit of banter between the two groups. We don’t hide from the fact that we didn’t quite get that right and we want to be better. We want our footy to do the talking.”

Richardson addressed the playing group and said that while he remained impressed with his team’s initial response amid the incident, the group “will learn” from the experience.

Paul Roos said that the incident reflected poorly on the entire club.

Marc Murphy returns serve to Jake Carlisle. Picture: AAP

“What would be a blight is if we did nothing about it,” Richardson said on Fox Footy.

“We’re kidding ourselves if we don’t think that when you have 45 players that you’re going to get everything right all the time.

“What you do need to get right is the action that you take and what do you accept as a footy club.”

Richardson said he always attempted to get his players to “play on the edge, certainly physically” but said such an incident prompted him to question himself.

“We’re talking about a couple of comments we didn’t get right. I’m really proud of our players — they’re a great bunch of blokes who have done the right thing for a long time,” he said.

“We’d much prefer that we didn’t overstep the mark verbally, but we did, and we did something about it.”

Carlisle was also sledged during Saturday’s fiery clash with references made to his behaviour in the now infamous Snapchat video, which surfaced just hours after his trade from Essendon in October 2015.

The footage showed Carlisle snorting white lines of powder.

The AFL said Saturday’s alleged sledges were not picked up by on-field microphones.

“There was nothing filed from the umpires in their match-day report,” an AFL spokesman said.

“Neither club has lodged a complaint with the AFL.

“The AFL has spoken to both clubs to confirm if any complaint may be lodged and we have been advised by both clubs they did not wish for any further action.”

AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh said the union would explore the merits of a players’ code for on-field incidents.

“It is important to note that there have been no complaints laid and we have spoken to players at both clubs who don’t wish for any action to be taken,” Marsh said.

“It’s our view that on-field incidents are isolated and generally, players show great respect for each other.

“With respect to a potential players’ code, we can see both the opportunity and challenges in how it might work and we will discuss its merits with our board and players during mid-season club visits before finalising any position.”

Former Essendon champion Tim Watson called on AFL players to step up and mandate what is and is not acceptable.

Marc Murphy walks off the field after he was taunted by Saints players. Picture: Getty Images

“This is a player issue, not an AFL issue,” Watson told SEN.

“Lots of stuff gets said out there on the AFL field, but what do the players find acceptable? What’s crossing the line? What’s banter?

“If what I’ve been told is what’s been said to Murphy, I would find it extremely disappointing to think the modern AFL player thinks it’s fair game.

“Write a code amongst yourselves boys. Be mature, be responsible.”

Essendon veteran Brendon Goddard would not be drawn on whether players need to establish a specific sledging code.

“I don’t know what happened in regards to that (Murphy) incident,” Goddard said.

“I don’t want to sound too hypocritical because I don’t mind a bit of a chirp on the ground but there still is essentially that line in the sand when it does come to that.

“In terms of what needs to happen I’m not sure.

“I’ve been around 15 years now and generally I think everyone has got a sense of where that line in the sand is, seen guys step over that (and) that’s fine for them, that is. From our group, and me personally, I think there is a good sense of where that line is.”

Murphy received one vote in the coaches award.