New details of Zorko-Petty sledge come to light, AFL “comfortable” with situation

Brisbane Lions captain Dayne Zorko allegedly targeted a member of Melbourne defender Harrison Petty’s family with a three-quarter time sledge on Friday night.

Petty was left in tears and needed to be consoled by coaches and teammates during the final break in Melbourne’s 58-point Round 23 win over Brisbane.

SEN’s Sam Edmund provided clarity over the reported sledge.

“Dayne Zorko’s comments to Harrison Petty, they were cruel from the Lions captain and centred in on the health of a family member,” Edmund told SEN’s Crunch Time.

Speaking on Saturday morning, Melbourne GM of football Alan Richardson said he’d had an unofficial discussion with Brisbane coach Chris Fagan on the morning after the game.

He praised the Lions for their apology and reaction to Zorko’s comments, while also confirming he’d communicated with the AFL.

“Yeah, they are (involved). I’ve spoken to the AFL, my understanding is they’re pretty comfortable with where it sits,” Richardson said.

“I can’t speak for them but that’s certainly the tone that I got based on the fact that Dayne (Zorko) apologised and Harrison Petty is really comfortable with where it sits.

“As a footy club, we’re comfortable with where it sits now too.

“They’ve been really quite sincere in their apology, that’s not the sort of behaviour they want from their players, they were really impressive yesterday in terms of taking the issue seriously.”

It is understood Zorko apologised to Petty after the game.

Steven May and Simon Goodwin also spoke about the incident post-game.

Melbourne has now secured a top four spot for the upcoming finals series, while Brisbane could finish as low as sixth.