North Melbourne great David King has slammed Kangaroos recruit Charlie Spargo for the ‘dumbest thing’ seen on a football field this year.
Tensions boiled over during the opening quarter of Saturday’s clash between the Kangaroos and West Coast with emerging superstar Harley Reid at the heart of it.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Charlie Spargo gives away ‘dumbest’ free kick ever
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North had made a solid start before Reid almost single-handedly flipped the script.
He won a free kick inside forward 50 and kicked truly before winning another at the resulting centre bounce. Then with the ball in their forward line, the young gun won another free kick after a crude high tackle from Luke Davies-Uniacke just 15m out from goal.
But Reid somehow missed the resulting set shot from point-blank range and Kangaroos players quickly rushed in to remonstrate.
However, Eagles players were anticipating it and also rushed over to get around Reid. Before anyone laid a hand on each other, Spargo threw Brady Hough to the ground, right in front of the umpire.
A free kick was paid, and then a 50m penalty for another incident, to gift Hough a free goal and the Eagles a five-point lead at quarter-time.
King didn’t hold back in his assessment of Spargo, who joined the club in the off-season after 108 games at Melbourne, including the 2021 premiership.
“Dumbest thing you’ll see this year from Charlie Spargo,” he said on Fox Footy.
“You’ve got experience, you’re in this football club to have an impact on youth coming through.
“You can’t be giving away free kicks at the top of the square.
“It’s not tough, it’s not smart. You gain nothing from doing that. He just throws him to the ground. You’ve just got to be better than that.
“He is in there head right now, Harley Reid.”
In a hectic first quarter, the Eagles lost Hamish Davis to a suspected concussion in an incident that could land Paul Curtis in hot water.
Davis crashed into the turf after a heavy tackle from Curtis, which will come under scrutiny from the match review officer.
More to come …
