Melbourne star Harrison Petty is left in TEARS on the pitch after Dayne Zorko ‘sledged family’

Melbourne’s Harrison Petty is left in TEARS on the pitch and comforted by Simon Goodwin seconds after an animated chat with Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko who ‘hurled a sledge about a member of his family’

  • Harrison Petty was left in tears on the pitch after a chat with Dayne Zorko 
  • Brisbane captain Zorko allegedly made a comment about a Petty family member 
  • The Demons rallied around their teammate and thumped the Lions by 68 points 
  • Simon Goodwin says the AFL will investigate Friday evening’s incident 

Harrison Petty was visibly upset after Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko allegedly aimed a slur referencing a member of the Melbourne star’s family on Friday night, with the pair patching things up after the final siren.

Zorko was involved in plenty of scraps with the reigning premiers during a feisty affair – although Melbourne star Christian Petracca has insisted that his side had not planned to target the Lions gun ahead of the game.

And tempers flared heading into the three-quarter time break, with Channel 7 and Fox Footy claiming that Zorko had words with Petty.

Harrison Petty was left in tears on the pitch after a slur was allegedly directed in his direction

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is seen comforting his star after the incident at 3QT

 Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is seen comforting his star after the incident at 3QT

Petty started the fourth term on the interchange bench after the earlier incident

Petty started the fourth term on the interchange bench after the earlier incident 

As the teams separated for their respective huddles, Petty was seen in tears with it becoming clear that something had been said to him during the fracas. 

The 22-year-old was comforted by head coach Simon Goodwin and a number of backroom staff, and started the fourth term on the interchange bench as he sought to ‘reset’ himself after the incident.

The Demons rallied around their teammate to storm home to a 68-point victory over their premiership rivals, and after the game Melbourne hardman Steven May was seen fronting up to Zorko – who eventually made a beeline for Petty and the pair were seen shaking hands. 

After the final siren, Demons star Steven May had words with Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko

After the final siren, Demons star Steven May had words with Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko

Zorko allegedly made a slur about a member of Petty's family and the pair spoke after the siren

Zorko allegedly made a slur about a member of Petty’s family and the pair spoke after the siren

Zorko and Petty shook hands and Max Gawn hopes that the pair can move on after Friday's win

Zorko and Petty shook hands and Max Gawn hopes that the pair can move on after Friday’s win

Melbourne general manager Alan Richardson told Channel 7 of the incident: ‘Petts thought he heard something that was probably over the top in terms of a reference to a member of his family. 

‘We actually don’t have all of the information so it would be unfair of me to say anything with respect to Brisbane. 

‘I went over to Danny Daly [Brisbane footy manager] at the break to let him know that it happened and if it happened then perhaps they might want to sort it out.’

Goodwin said post-match: ‘Petts thought he heard something inappropriate about a family member he was a bit upset about it.

‘Brisbane have spoken to us and obviously the AFL will look at it. That’s pretty much the details we’ll give at the moment and we’ll just hand it over to the AFL.

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says the AFL will investigate Friday's incident

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says the AFL will investigate Friday’s incident

‘Petts was a bit emotional at three quarter-time. He went away, reset himself and came back into the game.

‘Brisbane have been quite apologetic towards us and that’s the type of footy club they are. They’re a very respected humble footy club and we’ll taken them on their word.’

Asked how Petty was feeling, Goodwin said: ‘He’s fine. He’s all good.

‘I thought his last quarter was pretty strong.’

Demons captain Max Gawn said: ‘I wasn’t there, there were a few words, all I saw was my teammate in tears.

‘It got us going a little bit, there’s plenty of big fish to fry over the next few weeks and I think they sorted it out. I saw a little handshake so hopefully all is well.’

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