AFL world erupts over three-week suspension for North youngster

Footy fans have been left seeing red after the AFL’s Match Review Officer dropped the hammer on a North Melbourne star.

North Melbourne youngster Jackson Archer has been handed a three-week suspension following his incident with Bulldogs defender Luke Cleary.

The ugly collision unfolded in the fourth quarter on Saturday night and left Cleary face down on the turf out cold.

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Shortly after the incident took place questions turned to if Archer would face any scrutiny from the match review officer.

Watch the horror collision in the video player above

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge believed the youngster wouldn’t have any issues.

“I wouldn’t have thought so,” he said.

“Sometimes when a player’s running that fast for the ball and then a player ends up on the ground … the slide-under (the knee) rule is there as well, so you don’t know which way it’s going to go.

“I imagine it’s going to be OK.”

The MRO however thought differently as they handed down a three-week suspension after it was graded as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.

Cleary slams into Archer's knee and is KO'd. Credit: Fox Footy

News of Archer’s suspension did not go down well with footy fans who vented their frustration with the league.

3AW’s Shane McInnes wrote on X: “What was the kid to do? He was charging toward the play at pace to contest the ball. He was legally going for the ball! Imagine if he stopped running … he’d be called out shirking the contest. There was no malice & surely it’s a “football incident”.”

One irate fan wrote: “Absolute f***ing joke this sport. I’m so over it.”

A second wrote: “Jackson Archer getting 3 weeks for an accidental contact is a disgrace. Christian needs to go immediately.”

A third added: “Jackson Archer lucky to not have a shattered leg, an absolute freak accident. It cannot be weeks.”

A fourth wrote: “Jackson Archer been offered a three match ban is the nail in the coffin in this great game of ours! Michael Christian, Laura Kane and Andrew Dillion, time for you to hand in your resignation papers!”

The Dogs defender was out cold. Credit: Fox Footy.

Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary noted on Sunday’s coverage that Cleary had avoided any serious injuries but was in the concussion protocols.

Cleary said that the AFL’s ruling ultimately came about due to the severity of the incident that unfolded.

“It’s three matches because of the impact,” Cleary said.

“The AFL are looking at the fact that Archer didn’t slow down, Cleary had a play on the ball and he breached his duty of care.”

Abbey Holmes added: “That’s exactly what I would have said, there was no change of pace from Archer.

“Coming into the contest when you can see a player already down on their knees chasing after a ground ball, that’s the duty of care that was lacking for me.”

Archer and the Kangaroos will more than likely challenge the ruling and head to the AFL Tribunal to lessen the suspension.

The nasty fourth quarter incident soured the victory for the Western Bulldogs who opened their campaign with a 16-point win.

The Dogs headed into the game without inspirational captain Marcus Bontempelli (calf), newly-minted all-Australian Adam Treloar (calf), Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Cody Weightman (knee), Liam Jones (hamstring) and Jason Johannisen (hamstring).

The likes of Ed Richards (30 disposals and one goal), Tom Liberatore (28 touches) and new recruit Matthew Kennedy (23) stood tall and filled the void as the Dogs ran out 17.11 (113) to 14.13 (97) winners.

Bailey Dale was also fantastic with 29 possessions and two goals from defence, while Nick Larkey kicked five goals for the Kangaroos as the Bulldogs extended their winning streak against North to eight games.

Originally published as AFL world erupts over three-week suspension for North youngster