Richmond great Jack Riewoldt slams 'light' Tristan Xerri ban for gross act 'up there with spitting'
Updated . First published at
Richmond great Jack Riewoldt believes the AFL's three-game suspension for North Melbourne star Tristan Xerri was insufficient, after he wiped blood from his nose onto the face of Essendon captain Andrew McGrath.
Xerri has claimed he was called a "weak c-word" and "an effing, flopping c-word" after he pleaded guilty to the serious misconduct charge.
The ruckman gave away back-to-back 50 metre penalties in the second quarter and during the Bombers' push up the ground, was bumped into Archie Roberts by Andrew McGrath. Roberts had put his hands in the air in protest at Xerri's drop to the ground.
READ MORE: Surprise winner from first month holds mirror up Dons
READ MORE: Teen freak does it again with ridiculous 15-ball fifty
READ MORE: Lloyd reveals huge void Bombers are 'crying out' to fill
Tristan Xerri touches his nose while in an exchange with Andrew McGrath. Getty
He was then stuck inside 50 all by himself as the ball transitioned from defence to attack. Nick Larkey found him in the square which led to Xerri putting six points on the board for North Melbourne.
Before kicking the goal, Xerri had received a gobful from Jaxon Prior on the mark and the ruckman went straight towards him after kicking it.
McGrath was first to the scene along with Ben McKay. Xerri rubbed his nose twice before putting his hand to McGrath's face, which has led to the uproar and the three-game ban.
Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson described the indiscretion as "disgraceful behaviour", while revealing the suspension.
He also noted that Xerri pleading guilty and showing remorse for the incident allowed them to settle on three games, as opposed to four, which is what the AFL was pushing for.
Riewoldt however believes the Tribunal should have come down heavier on the star ruckman.
"My opinion is, (the ban is) light. I thought five was probably where we would need to start with this. It's hard to draw comparisons to other incidents, (but) I would have this up there with spitting," Riewoldt told Fox Footy on Monday night.
"I think that's the best thing you can draw comparisons (to) and the pub test, for me, says five."
Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley received a one-game ban in 2002 for wiping blood on the guernsey of Geelong's Cameron Ling, in the last precedent for this action.
Nathan Buckley wipes blood from his head onto Cameron Ling. The Age
Jeremy Howe, while playing for Melbourne, was fined in 2012 for wiping blood onto the shorts of Port Adelaide's Tom Jonas.
Xerri of course made contact with the face of McGrath to smear the blood, which differentiated it from those.
GWS star Toby Greene was fined for spitting in the direction of Richmond player Anthony Miles in 2015. That would have likely turned into a ban had it made contact.
Xerri apologised for wiping the blood and explained it was his intention to show Essendon he was bleeding, while they were accusing him of flopping.
He claimed he had been called those swear words before admitting it was a "lapse in judgement".
"There's no excuses, mate. It's a poor look. I had a brain fade. I was defending myself and in that moment I had a brain fade. I should have done better," he said.
Xerri confirmed he contacted McGrath the next morning and had a "good conversation".
The AFL's lawyer, Andrew Woods KC, asked for a sanction of three matches based on Xerri's action being a "conscious disregard for the other player's welfare".
Tristan Xerri touches the face of Andrew McGrath. Getty
North's lawyer, Justin Graham KC, countered with a request for two matches. Two previous incidents were shown, with Nathan Buckley wiping blood on Cameron Ling's jumper in 2002 and Jeremy Howe wiping blood on Tom Jonas' shorts in 2012.
Both men copped one-week bans.
The tribunal deliberated for just over half an hour before delivering the three-week ban, meaning he'll miss matches against Carlton, Brisbane and Richmond.
Xerri spoke to reporters outside the AFL tribunal headquarters and apologised again.
"Firstly I want to acknowledge and say sorry once again to Andy, obviously I spoke to him over the phone the day after," he said.
"I just want to say sorry to him again. That sort of stuff doesn't belong in our game and I'm incredibly remorseful for that."
Tristan Xerri speaks to Nine's Tony Jones. Nine
The ruckman agreed that aggression is a strength in his game but "that's no excuse".
"I know as a leader of the football club and a role model in our society that that's no excuse for what I did," he said.
"Once again, I'm incredibly remorseful and sorry to the club and my teammates and family who unfortunately have been affected by this.
"I'll do everything in the next period of time to repay them."
