WHAT is it with North Melbourne and intra-club fisticuffs?

A few early on-field bust-ups marred North Melbourne’s City v Country clash on Friday afternoon, with Luke McDonald involved in another scuffle before ex-skipper Andrew Swallow was dumped in a strong spear tackle.

As McDonald’s opponent Lindsay Thomas lunged to take a mark inside forward 50, McDonald produced an overzealous spoil, collecting Thomas in the back of the head and sending him to the turf to earn a free kick.

Thomas was quick to get up from the hit, but was clearly unimpressed with McDonald’s treatment, sparking a small tangle and a few choice words inside the arc.

Round 18

Unfortunately for Thomas, he was unable to capitalise on his free set-shot for goal, missing from around 30m out directly in front.

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However the enigmatic small forward would extract some revenge during the second period of the game, catching McDonald holding the ball then converting his set-shot.

It’s the second on-field club scuffle involving McDonald in the past month, following the father-son pick’s altercation with Shaun Higgins in January.

“He’s competitive — that’s his biggest trait and that’s why he got drafted where he did. That’s what we love about him,” Swallow told reporters post-game.

Minutes later, Swallow was involved in his own clash later in the intra-club match as ruckman Braydon Preuss — a rugby league convert — dumped him on his head in a rough-looking spear tackle.

Braydon Preuss tackles Andrew Swallow. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

The former Kangaroos skipper then remonstrated, getting on top of Preuss, wrestling him and striking him lightly in the head.

Teammates were forced to separate the pair, with Swallow left fuming.

“It went so quick. I just got up and wanted to show him I wasn’t happy,” Swallow said.

“We want Preussy to be really aggressive. He’s a big fella and he didn’t quite get the technique right, but he’s going to continue to refine that.

“I didn’t like it, but it’s all good, we’re happy now.”





Swallow fights back. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images





Swallow said he had moved on from Preuss’ tackle, claiming the on-field aggression displayed by all players was encouraging.

“We’ve lost a lot of our older guys, so there’s a lot of spots up for grabs and guys are really competitive, which is a good thing,” Swallow said.

“We play a full contact sport, blokes are being really aggressive and competing against each other and that’s what we want.

“At the end of the day, we’re happy in the change rooms. But when we’re out there, we’re competing hard.”



Swallow gets the better of Preuss. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images



