West Coast v Essendon: Nic Naitanui and Zach Merrett get into it near the boundary

Tom Naghten

West Coast v Essendon: Nic Naitanui and Zach Merrett get into it near the boundary image

Nic Naitanui and Zach Merrett may face sanction over an incident that saw players from both teams get into it right in front of the fans on the fence.

Thursday night's elimination final at Optus Stadium was just Naitanui's fourth game of the season and his impact was telling.

The star Eagles ruckman was on reduced minutes but his presence helped the home side to handy lead early in the third quarter of their clash with the Bombers.

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Things got heated when Naitanui engaged in a contest with Essendon midfielder Merrett near the boundary line, with the big man taking issue after Merrett appeared to tug on his dreads.

The West Coast star dumped Merrett into the fence, with several Bombers players coming in to fly the flag, knocking over some bloke's hot chips in the process.

It also appeared a fan threw a beer over Merrett as he stood up.


It was later confirmed that both players were reported by the umpires over the incident.

While Merrett and Naitanui are likely to face fines for their role in the drama, the fan who chucked his drink over Merrett will be lucky to escape sanction.

Plenty of viewers watching at home noticed the fan's stupidity.



As for the scoreboard, West Coast maintained a healthy lead they'd established early in the match, with a four-goal opening half from Josh Kennedy seeing them into the sheds with a 30-point lead.

Essendon threatened a comeback in the third term but once the Eagles saw that off, they blew them off the park in the final quarter to set up a meeting with the loser of Friday night's clash between Geelong and Collingwood.

Tom Naghten

Tom Naghten Photo

Tom Naghten is a senior editor at The Sporting News Australia where he's been part of the team since 2017. He predominantly covers boxing and MMA. In his spare time, he likes to watch Robbie Ahmat's goal against the Kangaroos at the SCG in 2000.