By Peter Ryan and Hannah Kennelly
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- The MRO has offered North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri a three-match suspension for striking Melbourne’s Tom Sparrow
- Ben Camporeale has been referred to the VFL tribunal over an incident in which two opponents entered concussion protocols.
- Carlton vice-captain Jacob Weitering maintains the Blues can still find “purpose”.
- The AFL is investigating racist comments directed at St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Port Adelaide’s Jase Burgoyne on social media.
North Melbourne will weigh up whether to challenge ruckman Tristan Xerri’s three-match suspension for knocking out Melbourne’s Tom Sparrow when attempting a tackle.
The club has until midday Tuesday to decide whether they have grounds to contest the MRO decision which found Xerri was careless and graded the high contact as severe.
Xerri swung his left arm in an attempt to tackle Sparrow as the Demon sharked a boundary throw-in from in front of the two ruckmen and collected him high.
Max Gawn remonstrates after the contentious incident.Credit: AFL Photos
He was immediately set upon by Demons’ skipper Max Gawn, but Xerri’s coach Alastair Clarkson defended the action post-match saying it was an accident.
The Kangaroos also watched Western Bulldogs midfielder Ed Richards escape sanction a week earlier when he fended off a tackle from Luke Davies-Uniacke that left the important Roo concussed, ruling him out of Sunday’s clash against Melbourne.
North Melbourne must stump up $10,000 to take their case to the tribunal with the ruling difficult to poke holes in.
Xerri’s momentum from the ruck contest meant he was travelling past Sparrow and was not looking at him when his left arm made contact with the Demons’ midfielder who copped a slight shove from behind as he went for the ball.
North Melbourne have had no luck at the tribunal this season with emerging forward Paul Curtis suspended for three weeks for a tackle that concussed Port Adelaide’s Josh Sinn.
The incident which led to Tristan Xerri’s suspensionCredit: Fox Footy
The outrage following that verdict led to AFL acknowledgement that the tribunal matrix which dictates penalties for specific acts needed to be reviewed at the end of the season.
They also appealed Jackson Archer’s suspension in round one when he collected Bulldogs’ defender Luke Cleary in the head as both players attacked a loose ball.
The Kangaroos can ill-afford to lose Xerri, who has been one of their most vital players this season. They may hand Taylor Goad a debut but the experienced Callum Coleman-Jones is his more likely replacement.
Sparrow entered concussion protocols and will miss this round. He was well enough post-game to go home where he was monitored.
West Coast’s number one pick Harley Reid was offered a $6250 fine for tripping veteran Travis Boak. It was Reid’s third tripping offence and his focus was distracted in the clash with Port Adelaide.
Camporeale in hot water over vicious VFL bump
Hannah Kennelly
Carlton youngster Ben Camporeale has been referred to the VFL tribunal for a contentious incident last Friday in which two Brisbane Lions opponents were injured.
The father-son recruit was charged with rough conduct - classified as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact – for the clash with Lions players Deven Robertson and James Tunstill at Ikon Park on Friday.
Robertson was left with a concussion and broken teeth after Ben Camporeale shoved him into Tunstill at a centre bounce in the final quarter. Tunstill has also entered concussion protocols following the incident.
Ben Camporeale’s twin brother Lucas Camporeale, who was also drafted last year, has already made his senior debut for the Blues.
Father-son recruit Ben Camporeale can accept a four-match ban with an early plea. In a Monday afternoon statement, Carlton said the club had until 10am Tuesday to respond.
With finals unreachable at Carlton, there had been a growing push from fans for Ben Camporeale to be given a senior game.
Twins Ben Camporeale and Lucas Camporeale are the sons of 1995 Carlton premiership player Scott Camporeale.
Weitering says the Blues can still find purpose
Hannah Kennelly
Carlton vice-captain Jacob Weitering concedes the club’s on-field leadership is not up to standard but maintains the Blues can still find “purpose”.
Amid a four-match losing streak and pressure from fans, Weitering wanted the team to find something positive out of the final six rounds of their AFL season.
Carlton stars Patrick Cripps and Jacob Weitering. Credit: AFL Photos
“You certainly never go out to fail,” Weitering said on Monday at the MCG.
“And you know, we’re in a very privileged position that we get to play in front of millions at a time watching us on TV, you succeed in front of millions and you fail in front of millions, and that’s just the reality of the job.
“At the moment as leaders we’re probably not playing to the standard that we want to play to. When your leaders don’t lead, it’s very hard to ask the younger crop to come up and do a job.
“We’ve got six weeks now to find a purpose. Winning is obvious, but how can we get the most out of the back end of this year to set us up for next year?”
Weitering also expressed support for coach Michael Voss – who received a threatening message from a Collingwood member via the MCG’s antisocial behaviour hotline. The Pies member has since been banned from the MCG and attending all AFL and AFLW matches for the next five years.
“The no.1 thing for us is just making sure Vossy’s OK,” Weitering said. “We’ve got his back. He’ll continue coaching us for the rest of the year. He’s put on an incredibly brave face and he’s done that the entire time that he’s coached us.”
Blues ruck-forward and free agent Tom De Koning has also been in the spotlight, contemplating a massive offer from St Kilda, which will be, at the very least, $1.7 million per year over seven years.
Weitering said his teammate would “weigh up his options and do what’s best for him”.
“But his job - and I’m sure he’ll say the same - is to run out in the navy blue for the (next) six weeks and try to get some wins for us,” he said.
‘Absolutely disgusting’: AFL probe racist comments directed at two players
Hannah Kennelly
The AFL’s integrity unit is investigating racist comments directed at St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Port Adelaide’s Jase Burgoyne on social media at the weekend.
The players, both First Nations men, were subjected to comments described by the league as “abhorrent” from anonymous social media accounts.
St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was the subject of racist abuse online after playing at the weekend.Credit: Getty Images
They have been offered support from their clubs and the league, while the AFL tries to identify the culprits, who would likely be banned from attending AFL matches.
A statement from the league on Monday said, “there is absolutely no place for racism in our game and fans who are found to be responsible are not welcome at the football”.
CEO Andrew Dillon said hiding behind a fake account was “cowardly”.
“I want the people that have created these online accounts and racially abused our players to know that our game does not want you,” AFL chief executive officer Andrew Dillon added.
“Real fans don’t racially abuse players.”
Jase Burgoyne flies for the ball against West Coast on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
On Monday afternoon, Carlton vice-captain Jacob Weitering expressed his support for the duo and said it was disappointing to see abuse happen.
“There seems to be a constant theme that when players aren’t performing, coaches aren’t performing, teams aren’t performing, that people feel the need to voice their opinions in a harsh and radical way,” he said.
Weitering said the suggestion of limiting player’s social media consumption opens up “a can of worms”.
“There’s certainly more questions than answers, and players and clubs will deal with it in different ways, but for us, we’ve got to worry about the people within our four walls and making sure that everyone’s OK,” he said.
In their statement, Port Adelaide said social media platforms needed to take greater responsibility for allowing abusive comments into a public forum.
“We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report and highlight it to the social media platforms on which it appears,” the Power said in its statement.
“Port Adelaide also calls for governments to demand accountability from social media organisations. Platforms need to take accountability and action against these abusers.”
Port skipper Connor Rozee also expressed his support to the players in an interview on Channel Seven, describing the comments directed at Burgoyne as “absolutely disgusting”.
“I don’t know how many times we have to see this before people understand it’s absolutely not OK,” he said.
“I’d love to see us find a way to point those people out and make sure they’re not hiding behind screens.”
The racist abuse was directed at the players following their respective matches at the weekend.
St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena released a statement on Monday, expressing the club’s support for Wanganeen-Milera, a Kokatha and Narangga man.
“As a club we do not accept racist behaviour of any kind. These comments are abhorrent and have no place in our game or our community,” Dilena said.
The AFL said it had an agreement with the eSafety Commissioner to address racism when it occurs.
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