- Lions player Noah Answerth handed over the same ‘crying’ sled he used in 2022
- It has sparked widespread condemnation, including from the Lions captain.
- However, AFL champion Luke Hodge defended Answerth for his actions.
AFL champion and former Brisbane Lion Luke Hodge has weighed in on the “crying” sledge that has dominated the headlines this week and said he would do the same.
The incident involved Lions player Noah Answerth, who reignited a two-year dispute with Melbourne players through an unsportsmanlike gesture directed at Demons player Harrison Petty.
After Petty missed a goal, Answerth mocked him by rubbing his eyes as if he were crying — the same sled he gave to Petty in 2022.
In the previous clash, then-Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko reportedly told the Melbourne star: “I hope your mother dies,” prompting Petty’s emotional response.
Football legend and commentator Jason Dunstall criticized Answerth during the Fox Footy broadcast, while Zorko also criticized his teammate for repeating the sledging and opening old wounds.
Answerth threw the same crying sled he used against Harrison Petty in 2022 in their matchup Thursday night.
While most football experts have criticized Answerth for his actions, former Lions great Luke Hodge has defended him.
While fans and commentators condemned Answerth’s behaviour, Luke Hodge, a respected Hawthorn and Brisbane Lions figure, defended him and even said he would do the same in his position.
“If I was a second-row player trying to make a name for myself and my job was to get into the shoes of a striker, I would do everything I could to keep my place,” Hodge told SEN’s Crunch Time.
‘If it means getting stuck with Petty, he didn’t hit him, he didn’t curse him, he didn’t do anything wrong that would hurt him.
‘He mentioned something from a couple of years ago and, to be fair, Petty in that game talked just as badly, so I don’t think Noah did anything wrong.
“He’s a young guy who, as a defender, you know what defenders have to do and they have to get under the skin of the forwards, so if that means it’s through an action.”
‘Looks great? No, it doesn’t, but this is a guy who is a young, fierce, competitive player and this could be how he brings out the best in himself.
“I don’t think Chris Fagan would say go and do it again knowing what Chris is like, but I understand the pockets think a little differently.”
Lions champion Dayne Zorko condemned Answerth’s sledging and shook Petty’s hand after Thursday night’s heated confrontation.
Zorko, who was booed by Demons fans every time he had the ball on Thursday night, was unaware of the incident but addressed it openly.
“I’ll probably go and talk to him, obviously that’s not the way we want to win,” the former Lions captain, 35, told ABC Radio.
‘In the heat of the moment, things happen. I’m sure she would have fixed it after the game.
Melbourne defender Jake Lever said it shouldn’t be part of the game.
“He went through a tough time there a few years ago and as a player you don’t know what other people are going through,” Lever told the Seven Network.
“I think football has cleaned up those types of acts.”
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said he was not aware of the incident and was not willing to offer his opinion.
‘I didn’t see it, what happened? They’ll probably ask Fages (Lions coach Chris Fagan) when he comes in, that’s up to them,” Goodwin said.
Fagan also said he had not seen the incident before attending his news conference.
“I have to be very careful with that kind of thing, so I’ll let it go to the goalkeeper, if that’s okay with him,” he said.