AFL

SOPHIE GANNON: Over the last 48 hours, the footy world has debated Sunday’s ‘nasty’ incident between North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri and Melbourne’s Tom Sparrow, and I’ve been shocked at some of the takes.

The All-Australian midfielder ‘raised eyebrows internally’ with his surprising move.

The young gun will likely need surgery.

Days after a man was charged with racially abusing a basketball player, an AFL club has called for government action after a similar social media attack.

In-demand West Coast star Harley Reid ‘can’t leave’ the embattled club after taunting Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis, according to Kane Cornes.

West Coast co-captain Liam Duggan has described Jack Graham’s homophobic slur as a ‘slip of the tongue’ as the Eagles hierarchy backed him in as a leader. 

In a heated battle between two top draft picks, it appeared Jason Horne-Francis was keen to let Harley Reid know exactly who was top dog.

West Coast’s house of horror has dished up a new kind of pain. Port Adelaide took until the final term to reel in a lead and win by 26 points.

West Coast recruit Jack Graham says he’s ‘very remorseful’ after being slugged a hefty suspension for a highly offensive homophobic slur directed at a GWS opponent. See the details here.

The never say die Dockers are back in the eight after a stunning final quarter where they turned a 13 point deficit into a 13-point win over Hawthorn at Optus Stadium.

‘It’s pretty distressing someone has this now.’

The inventor of State-of-Origin has backed its return in an AFL pre-season window, arguing elite players are ready to again embrace the opportunity to play at the highest level.

Carlton midfielder Adam Cerra is the first casualty of the AFL's edict this month that warned of tribunal intervention for repeat umpire contact.

The drums are beating loudly that Carlton big man Tom De Koning will take a monster deal at St Kilda, but that’s not why he’s not playing in the ruck for the Blues.

Carlton coach Michael Voss says he has a simple solution to one aspect of player-umpire collisions, which are in focus after the league's crackdown last month.