NORTH Melbourne ruck Tristan Xerri could come under scrutiny after appearing to wipe blood from his nose onto the face of Essendon captain Andrew McGrath.
Xerri was at the centre of a bizarre sequence of play in the second quarter at Marvel Stadium, when he gave away a 50m penalty in his attacking 50, fell to the ground after being pushed in the face by an opponent and - a few moments later - kicked a goal from the goalsquare.
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Bombers players remonstrated with Xerri, seemingly accusing the North ruck of taking a dive when he was pushed in an attempt to reverse the 50m penalty against him.
As McGrath and Xerri wrestled, the Kangaroos player wiped blood from his nose onto his right hand and held it up, indicating he had in fact been contacted high.
As the two players continued to wrestle, Xerri then appeared to wipe his hand on McGrath's left cheek.
The Match Review Officer will likely review the incident and give his finding on Sunday afternoon.
In 2012, then Melbourne forward Jeremy Howe pleaded guilty to misconduct and received a reprimand after he wiped his bleeding knee on the shorts of Port Adelaide's Tom Jonas during a match in Darwin.
In 2002, Collingwood star Nathan Buckley was banned for one match for wiping his blood on the guernsey of Geelong opponent Cameron Ling.
More to come ...
