Richmond star Jack Riewoldt says Brisbane Lions captain Dayne Zorko went “too far” with his sledding of Melbourne’s Harrison Petty.
The Lions insist they have put the situation “to bed” and will not issue any formal punishment to Zorko, whose words left Petty distraught and in tears during last Friday’s game.
Appearing on AFL 360, Riewoldt said Zorko had crossed a line.
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“(Zorko went) too far,” he said.
“The hardest thing is that there are so many people affected by what the sled did to someone. That frustrates me more than anything else.
“Obviously, if he had his time again, he wouldn’t do it and he said he regrets it and apologizes, but it’s a pretty poor thing to say.”
Riewoldt said there was a “code of conduct” between the players and that Zorko had crossed the line with his comments.
AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson asked the three-time premiership Tiger if he would use the slump as a way to shake up Zorko and the Lions when the sides meet in an elimination final next week.
“Do you stoop to that level and continue that trend or do you park the bus and move on? I’m probably more of a park the bus and move on,” he said.
Tom Hawkins, his collaborator and Geelong leader, agreed that the matter should be left alone in respect of Petty’s wishes.
“Out of respect for Harrison and his family … we certainly park it and move on,” he said.
“When we talk about other people’s family this is very delicate. That’s where he beat the mark by just a touch.
“I agree there’s room in our game for sledding, but there’s definitely a line and Dayne certainly probably crossed it.”