Updated ,first published
In today’s AFL Briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Kangaroos ruckman heading to tribunal for smear charge.
- West Coast won successive matches for the first time in almost two years.
- Magpies lose skipper again to hamstring injury.
- AFL boss expects next year’s opening round to look different again.
Xerri to face tribunal on serious misconduct charge
Jake Niall, Marc McGowan and Roy Ward
North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri will face the tribunal on a charge of serious misconduct after he appeared to smear his blood on an opponent, an action condemned by league boss Andrew Dillon as “something we don’t want to see” in football.
Debate raged on Sunday about Xerri’s actions and, if found guilty, how long his ban should be after he appeared to wipe his bloodied hand on the face of Essendon skipper Andy McGrath during North’s 12-point win at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
The Roos ruckman called McGrath on Sunday and apologised. He will appear at the AFL tribunal on Monday night.
Speaking outside the MCG on Sunday, AFL CEO Dillon gave a strong message about Xerri’s alleged actions.
”It’s not something we want to see on our fields,” Dillon said.
Geelong premiership player Cameron Ling – the victim of one of the AFL’s first “blood wiping” case more than two decades ago when Nathan Buckley copped a ban – says he views the practice differently now than he did in 2002.
“Now I put my older, sometimes wiser, head on my shoulders. We don’t want this in our game,” Ling told the ABC after Xerri’s controversial altercation with McGrath.
“That act is not an acceptable act on the football field.”
AFL commentator Kate McCarthy didn’t mince words about her thoughts on Xerri’s act.
“A grubby act,” McCarthy said on AFL’s The Round So Far show.
“I would hope that Tristan Xerri looks back on that moment and regrets what he has done because, for me, it’s very grubby and a disgusting act that we don’t want to see in football at all.
But Collingwood great Tony Shaw said on 3AW on Saturday night that Xerri should have to apologise and pay a large fine rather than miss a game. He altered that view on Sunday.
“I said he should get a week, but I do think we need to be a bit stronger and harder at times. Sookies.”
Geelong great Ling was directly involved in a high-profile blood wiping case in 2002 when Buckley wiped blood on Ling’s jumper so he also had to leave the field under the blood rule.
“I was 21 in 2002 and played 25 games or something like that – back then, I thought ‘what’s the big deal?’” Ling told ABC’s AFL Sunday.
“He didn’t have any malice; he just wanted me to come off the field and not have the advantage.
“Selfishly, I didn’t want too much attention on that moment and why he was bleeding in the first place, I ended up with a one-week suspension from that incident as well.”
Misconduct covers any act which would be “reasonably regarded as unacceptable or unsportsmanlike, or where it had the effect or potential to prejudice the reputation of any person, club or the AFL or to bring the game of football into disrepute”, the guidelines say.
Any suspension would result in Xerri missing a winnable marquee Good Friday match against Carlton.
Meanwhile, Dillon also addressed allegations that St Kilda’s Lance Collard used a homophobic slur in a VFL game. The league’s integrity unit is investigating.
“At the moment, that’s being investigated, and it is an allegation, so we’ll look into that,” he said.
“It’s not something we want to be dealing with.”
‘Evolving’ Eagles score stunning comeback win over Port
West Coast’s coach is hailing a new-found resilience after upsetting Port Adelaide by two points to bank consecutive wins for the first time in almost two years.
But Andrew McQualter isn’t yet prepared to say his Eagles have risen from their lengthy doldrums.
“We’re evolving as a team, we’re evolving as a club, and we feel like we’re making progress,” he said after a gutsy 13.14 (92) to 13.12 (90) victory at Adelaide Oval.
“But we’re still going to have a lot of challenges in front of us.”
The Eagles, who hadn’t won successive matches since rounds six and seven in 2024, slipped 29 points down just five minutes into the second quarter.
McQualter admired the spirit of his players to fight back without veteran Elliot Yeo, who suffered a groin injury.
“The group’s resilience is just starting to shine through,” he said. “Young and old players stood up in huge moments.”
The AFL’s controversial video-review system was again needed late in the contest.
But unlike Thursday night’s game in Geelong where an incorrect call was made by the umpires on the field and not reviewed, this time play was held up so the correct call could be made.
It meant the Eagles were denied a free kick that had been paid to them with about a minute left on the clock and a boundary throw-in was ordered. That decision gave Port Adelaide some hope of overturning the one-point deficit they faced at the time, but West Coast managed to gain possession of the ball and took it forward to score one more behind and secure their second win of the season.
The use of the AFL Review Centre (ARC) late in Sunday’s game came three days after the controversy halfway through the final quarter of Geelong’s eight-point win over Adelaide at GMHBA Stadium.
The day after that game the AFL admitted that Geelong’s Tom Atkins received a last-touch free kick when the ball had, in fact, come off his boot, and the crucial free kick should have gone to Adelaide.
The margin was two points at the time, and from Atkins’ free kick, the Cats took the ball forward and scored a goal to earn some breathing space.
Friday’s statement from the AFL said: “The ball came back into play before the ARC had time to intervene on the last disposal free kick awarded to Geelong in the fourth quarter last night. If the ARC did intervene, the decision would have been overturned.
“The AFL will look at its late-in-game process and the ability to potentially hold play to get the correct outcome.”
West Coast were victors at Adelaide Oval for the first time since round six, 2022.
Jake Waterman’s scoring output – he booted 4.4 – included a 65-metre set shot in the last quarter, while Harley Reid (21 disposals) and Bo Allan kicked two majors each.
The Eagles’ No.1 draft pick Willem Duursma (20 possessions, one goal) and second-gamer Josh Lindsay (19 touches) impressed while veteran Tim Kelly (23 disposals) was influential.
Port attackers Mitch Georgiades and Jack Whitlock both booted three goals and Corey Durdin scored two. But despite the ball-winning of acting captain Zak Butters (30 disposals), Kane Farrell (25) and Jase Burgoyne (21), the Power fell short.
Greg Dundas and AAP
AFL boss highlights strong crowds in opening round debate
Marc McGowan
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon expects next year’s opening round to look different again, but mainly because of cricket’s 150th centenary Test rather than any backlash.
Various players, coaches and officials, including Fremantle’s Justin Longmuir and Simon Garlick and rookie Melbourne coach Steven King, have argued it is unfair that only some clubs get to play a match and could be more prepared when facing a team that has not.
Dillon acknowledged that four of the six clubs that played in opening round then faced an opponent that did not win their round one match.
The exceptions were Collingwood and St Kilda, who lost to Adelaide and Melbourne, respectively.
“There are a number of stakeholders we consulted, and the coaches are really important,” Dillon said.
“If you look at the stats, though, there were six teams that played out of opening round into round one, and it was 4-2, but absolutely [we] take on board the feedback from the coaches on that.”
Dillon said that opening round fixturing, which typically focuses mostly on the northern markets, was a situation they were monitoring at league headquarters, but that they were thrilled with the higher crowds this season.
“What I am focusing on is our crowds are up on what they were last year. We’re averaging just a tick under 40,000 going to the games,” he said.
“We’ve had three games at Marvel [Stadium] this weekend, and they’ve all been above forecast. We’ll have a crowd of over 50,000 here at the ’G [between Carlton and Melbourne]. We’ve had four crowds in the 70,000s, and we had St Kilda, in opening round, play in front of the highest home-and-away crowd they’ve played in front of, and they’ve been in the competition since 1897.”
There will be a special one-off match between Australia and England at the MCG between March 11 and 15 next year to commemorate Test cricket’s legacy.
Dillon confirmed that meant the 2027 season would have a “different-looking start” to this year.
Moore out for another month
Greg Dundas
Collingwood will be without skipper Darcy Moore as they enter a string of blockbuster games in April.
The Magpies confirmed on Sunday morning that a low-grade hamstring strain suffered during Friday’s win over GWS Giants would rule the star defender out for the next “three to four weeks”.
That stretch includes the Thursday-night game against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba which lead into the Easter weekend, followed by games against Fremantle at home, arch rival Carlton, and, possibly, the Anzac Day clash with Essendon.
It’s a bitter blow for Moore who was playing his first game for the season on Friday at Marvel Stadium.
Collingwood’s executive general manager of football Charlie Gardiner said scans taken since Friday night’s game showed Moore had an inflamed bursa behind his knee.
“We are obviously disappointed for Darcy. Scans yesterday showed he has sustained a low-grade hamstring strain along with an inflamed bursa behind his knee, which is expected to keep him out for the next three to four weeks,” Gardiner said.
“Darcy will continue to work closely with our medical and high-performance team as he progresses through his return-to-play timeline.”
Collingwood beat the Giants on Friday despite Moore being sidelined with what, at the time, was described as “hamstring awareness” and his predecessor as captain, Scott Pendlebury, also hobbled with an Achilles strain.
Moore spent long stints off the ground on Friday. Speaking to media after the match, Collingwood coach Craig McRae said Moore’s return to the field had been cautiously handled.
“It’s hamstring awareness,” McRae said. “For those following his rehab back to play, he had this about 10 to 12 days ago – the same thing – and we were just, ‘No risk, no risk, no risk’.
“But we were in the game, and you go, ‘Can he push through? Can he take some minutes?’ Because it’s important that, in terms of rotations, to see if he could take some minutes without risk.
“Now I say that, but I’m just backing in the high-performance team. That’s not my area, and so we did that.
“But he’s not right. He’s not 100 per cent. Has he done a hamstring? I’m not sure. I don’t think so… but we’ll obviously do all the investigations and find out.”
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Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.
Roy Ward is a sports writer, live blogger and breaking news journalist. He’s been writing for The Age since 2010.Connect via X or email.