NORTH Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson said he didn't see the incident that caused his ruckman Tristan Xerri to leave the ground but believes that he is "OK".
Xerri received contact to his head in a ruck contest in the fourth quarter of the Kangaroos' 49-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, leaving the North big man looking dazed and in the hands of club medical staff.
KANGAROOS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats
It was the second head-high incident in the game, with North star midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke ruled out with concussion in the first quarter.
"'LDU' (Davies-Uniacke) was ruled out of the game with (concussion) protocols, but I think 'Big X' (Xerri) is OK,” said Clarkson in his post-match press conference.
When asked to further elaborate on the Xerri incident, Clarkson said he hadn't seen it.
"I didn't see anything. There's probably two things that I'm not an expert on and that's umpiring and concussion, so I probably won't make mention of either one of them," he said.
North Melbourne is already hampered with injury, with experienced players Luke Parker (soreness), Jack Darling (groin) and Luke McDonald (shoulder) all missing Thursday night's match. The Kangaroos were also without young gun George Wardlaw who suffered a concussion in their round 16 match against Hawthorn.
Key forward Nick Larkey, who kicked five first-half goals, also left the ground grabbing his knee in the first quarter, only to return later in the term. Clarkson clarified that his forward had just suffered a "knock to the knee."
"We battled manfully for the whole game - as you probably noticed, we were a bit hamstrung with some sore players," Clarkson said.
"We hung in there as best we could."
The win was the Bulldogs' fourth in a row, with the finals hopefuls facing two big challenges in the next fortnight. In round 18, the Dogs host Adelaide at Marvel Stadium followed by Brisbane at the Gabba the following week.
The Bulldogs now sit in fourth spot on the ladder, however Beveridge noted that his side hadn't yet beaten any of the teams currently in the top eight.
"We'll relish the challenge. But, we've just got to own up to the fact that we haven't beaten anyone above us … So, we're in the mix, but there's some opportunities on the stretch to keep winning," he said.
Beveridge praised the efforts of his leaders, including milestone man Tom Liberatore in his 250th game and Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli, for their role in helping get his side over the line against North.
"I just thought that those two boys, 'Libba' and Marcus, as the figureheads, the captain and vice-captain, and 'Naughts' (Aaron Naughton) ... our deputy vice, I thought Naughts was very, very good. So, our designated leaders were just outstanding," Beveridge said.
"When we really needed our teammates to stand up, they just led the way. They led the charge and Tom, you know, that just epitomises what he's about."
Beveridge commented on the shoulder injury to key midfielder Ed Richards who hurt himself in a huge hip-and-shoulder with Kangaroos forward Cam Zurhaar in the third quarter.
"It seems like a minor AC joint injury, which you can always play with. So, that's some good fortune for us," he said.
