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Full Noise by SN
One? Three? Five? Simpson weighs up potential Xerri suspension
SEN • March 30th, 2026 5:31 pm
Tristan Xerri is in some seriously hot water after an awful brain fade during North Melbourne's Round 3 win over Essendon.
Within the second term, the Kangaroos' ruckman - having being pinned for holding the man with a 50 on top - was clobbered by Archie Roberts, sending him to the deck deep in the forward 50.
After winning the ball back, the Roos transitioned the ball forward where Xerri remained, taking an uncontested mark and booting a goal from the square.
A heated exchange with the Bombers' defence followed, with Xerri using his hand to wipe claret from his nose, smearing it onto the cheek of opposition captain Andrew McGrath.
Given the unprecedented nature of the act, the suspected penalty remains unknown, leaving former Eagles head coach and North Melbourne premiership player Adam Simpson unsure how to read the incident from a Tribunal perspective.
“We spoke earlier in the year about how we judge the Tribunal, and I was going to be the pub test guy,” Simpson told SEN Whateley.
“The pub test for me, it feels between two and four (weeks).
“The remorse… does he come out and say something… the fact that it hasn’t happened for 20 years… (does that make a difference?)
“In fact, it hasn’t happened ever. The (Nathan) Buckley one, he wiped his head on (Cameron) Ling’s jumper.
“There’s that conversation, and it’s just a unique conversation, and just a brain fade. He is a critical part to North Melbourne’s success. They’ve got the Blues this week… it’s going to be very costly for North.
“For his character - I don’t think that it’s going to be one of those things that sticks forever – he just saw the red mist, literally, and he is going to suffer for it.”
“I’ve been trying to toss up. Is it one, is it three, is it five?” Gerard Whateley added.
“Is it one because of what has happened previous to that? Three is sort of your default. Is it five under the serious misconduct? I don’t know.
“It’s as much about the statement that comes with it, and how it all plays out as the number of weeks, but the number of weeks – you have to peg these things for the risk that it might be 20 years before it happens again, or it might happen in two weeks’ time, at which point you go, ‘did we set this right or not?’”
The Tribunal hearing is set for Monday night.
