By Scott Spits and Russell Bennett
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- Tristan Xerri will come under huge scrutiny after his incident with Tom Sparrow
- Essendon’s injury crisis has deepened yet again, with a star sidelined for up to 12 months
- The Swans got the points at Marvel Stadium but will be monitoring another head knock to Tom McCartin
- Over in the west, Jason Horne-Francis and Harley Reid clashed in a fiery display
Tristan Xerri’s errant forearm on Melbourne opponent Tom Sparrow was an unfortunate accident in a “competitive game of footy”, Alastair Clarkson says, but the Kangaroos are bracing for their ruckman to cop the full wrath of the match review officer.
The Demons snapped a five-game losing streak with a hard fought win over the Roos at the MCG, but the contest was marred by the incident that sparked Sparrow’s teammates to fly the flag for him.
An incident involving Kangaroos ruckman Tristan Xerri (centre) will come under heavy scrutiny.Credit: AFL Photos
Melbourne skipper Max Gawn said he “had to respond” after seeing his teammate knocked out by Xerri’s stray arm. Clarkson said Xerri was trying to lay a tackle in the “correct manner” and pointed to an incident last round when Luke Davies-Uniacke was concussed against the Western Bulldogs.
“It’s just swings and roundabouts,” Clarkson said.
“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.”
The four-time AFL premiership coach said footy accidents were more common at stoppages.
“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.
“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.”
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin described the incident as “nasty” and said his primary concern when he made his way to the rooms was Sparrow’s welfare.
Tristan Xerri and Max Gawn clash at the MCG.Credit: AFL Photos
“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.
“He’s up, he’s talking. He’s got his family and friends around him ... but he goes straight into the protocols.”
Immediately after the game Xerri’s opponent Gawn told Fox Footy: “I thought it was high.
“Xerri, I know as a ruck, he’s following up [from a ruck contest] as hard as he can, and he’s the best in the comp at doing it, so there’s definitely an element of that.
“But once I saw my teammate down, I had to… respond.”
The Demons were spurred on by veteran forward Jake Melksham, who booted five goals – including three in the final quarter. The Roos were within striking distance, trailing by 16 points at three-quarter-time, before Melksham’s star turn snuffed out their hopes.
But the clash between Xerri and Sparrow will dominate post-match discussion. The 25-year-old Demon immediately fell to ground motionless after copping the blow, and Melbourne players, including Gawn, seemingly tried to stop the Roo checking on Sparrow.
Sparrow didn’t move for some time after the incident at the 25-minute mark of the final term, but gave a thumbs up as he was stretchered off.
Without being prompted, Clarkson cited the round-17 incident between Davies-Uniacke and Bulldog Ed Richards. The veteran coach said his player copped a “a raised forearm to the scone” when Richards tried to fend him off.
Clarkson wasn’t sure if Xerri would be suspended.
“We’re at their discretion [the AFL match review system]. They look at every concussion, but they looked at LDU’s concussion last week, and said, ‘No case to answer’,” Clarkson said.
The Demons hadn’t tasted victory this season since late May, just their sixth win for 2025 coming against an emerging North Melbourne team that disposed of the Blues in their most recent visit to the MCG.
Match-winner: Jake Melksham.Credit: Getty Images
In a classic dead-rubber, Melksham was the standout player for the Demons, while Christian Petracca, at times matched up with emerging Roo Colby McKercher, was typically smooth throughout and finished with 31 possessions and seven clearances.
The Demons earned a hint of breathing space only seven minutes into the third when Gawn hit a drop punt crisply and his kick sailed through the big sticks to give them a 10-point lead.
When Bayley Fritsch followed suit with another set shot goal only a minute or two later – making it five straight goals to the Demons – and it seemed like the floodgates could open.
The match wasn’t quite over, however. Cam Zurhaar had a purple patch of his own that term, kicking three goals, to keep North in the contest.
Enter Melksham. The 241-game veteran and former Bomber marking his mark in the final term and clinching victory for the Demons in front of just over 35,000 fans.
Essendon’s injury fears realised
Essendon’s annus horribilis in the medical room has gone to another level after gun player Nic Martin and Will Setterfield joined the growing list of Bombers who won’t play again in 2025.
Martin was injured in the first quarter against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday night when his knee twisted awkwardly after he was bumped over the boundary line. His ruptured ACL was confirmed on Sunday.
Nic Martin will miss an extended period with a torn ACL.Credit: AFL Photos
Setterfield suffered a dreaded Lisfranc foot injury and the Bombers said he would see a surgeon this week.
Martin became the fourth Bomber to injure their ACL this season, joining Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards.
“This is incredibly tough news for Nic and for the entire club,” Essendon’s general manager of football Daniel McPherson said in a statement.
“He’s been a vital part of our midfield this season, and his absence will certainly be felt. Our players, coaches, staff, and all Bomber members and supporters will feel his loss. He’s had a terrific year and has been critical to our ability to perform week in, week out.”
McPherson also praised Setterfield for his performances so far this season.
“Will’s effort and intent this season has been terrific, so we are all disappointed that he won’t be back out there this year,” McPherson said.
The list of first-choice Essendon players sidelined also includes Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, Ben McKay, Kyle Langford, Harry Jones, Zach Reid and Martin.
Essendon coach Brad Scott said the club was being stretched by the injury toll and by regularly bringing in fresh faces it resulted in a “complete lack of synergy and connection”.
“It just sent a shiver down everyone’s spine,” Scott said of the quarter-time news on Saturday night that Martin’s season was likely over.
“I can’t think of a situation like this in my time in footy. We’re just asking a lot of guys who haven’t played AFL before, and every week we put out a side that’s never played together.
“These 12 months, injuries that are mounting up – it’s going to be a real challenge to keep everyone’s morale up, but that’s the job of our leaders.
“I think teams can adapt and cover one or two, but when you’re talking about half of the team, you’ve just got to accept that the synergy’s not going to be there.”
McCartin taken off after another head knock
AAP
Tom McCartin was concussed again as Sydney fought back in the last quarter to beat St Kilda by five points and keep their AFL season alive.
Saints first-gamer Max Heath is certain to come under match review scrutiny after he clumsily caught McCartin high early in the last quarter of the Swans’ 14.8 (92) to 13.9 (87) win on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.
Tom McCartin is led from the field at Marvel Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
McCartin was floored by the impact and had blood on his face as he left the field, immediately going into concussion protocols.
The Swans backman has a history of concussions, and his brother Paddy – a former St Kilda and Sydney player – was forced to retire from the AFL two years ago because of concussion issues.
“He’s OK now, we’ll just assess him in the next couple of days,” coach Dean Cox said after the match.
“We’ll support him, but he was walking around the change-rooms, which is really good.”
Cox said he was unaware of the contact from Heath, who collected McCartin in a marking contest.
“I saw Tom and my attention turned straight away to Tom and from there, what we’re going to do,” he said.
An added complication was that Sydney had already activated their substitute, meaning they were down to three men on the bench for most of the frenetic last quarter.
“My ideal thing with the sub rule is if you have five players there, why can’t they play? Do you need to have a sub? My thing is just play all five,” Cox said.
Reid and Horne-Francis clash in fiery display
Russell Bennett
A star showing from Power gun Zak Butters inspired Port Adelaide to a comeback win over the lowly Eagles on Sunday – 12.15 (87) to 9.7 (61) – but most of the attention in the aftermath was on an intriguing back-and-forth between former No.1 draft picks Jason Horne-Francis and Harley Reid.
Horne-Francis – the top pick by North Melbourne in 2021 before he left for Port Adelaide after just a season – had plenty of words for Reid late in the clash, and the top selection in 2023 wasn’t afraid to return fire.
The Eagles were behind by just two points in the final term as Reid gave away a free kick in the Power’s forward line that resulted in a goal to Travis Boak.
Port Adelaide players, including Horne-Francis, remonstrated with Reid, who, at another stage in the game, gave away another free kick to the Power after he appeared to drop his shoulder into Connor Rozee’s back.
“You’ve got the feeling that they’re going to be at each other for the next decade,” Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton said of Reid and Horne-Francis on the Fox Footy commentary.
Reid also confronted Horne-Francis after the Power star gave away his own free kick midway through the final term.
Horne-Francis was fired up after kicking a crucial goal.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
But the Port gun had the last laugh, booting a superb late goal in his side’s win.
Speaking to the media after the game, Eagles coach Andrew McQualter warned Reid not to get carried away in the heat of the moment.
“It’s really challenging, because I love the way he goes about it,” McQualter said.
“I’ll say that continuously, because if you have all players being as competitive as he is, you’re on the right track.
“But he clearly crossed the line too many times tonight. I’ve had that chat with Harley already. He knows it, and he’s going to play up to that line every single week, and that’s where we want him, and we want it to be a dance with the line that he doesn’t step over.”
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