Essendon v North Melbourne AFL LIVE: ‘That’s a horrible look’: Roos star in hot water for shock act; Bombers slide to 0-3

North Melbourne star Tristan Xerri is set to come under heavy scrutiny from the match review officer after appearing to smear blood on the face of an opponent.

Xerri was scuffling with Essendon skipper Andrew McGrath when he touched his bloodied nose then wiped it on the Bomber’s face.

“Oh no, don’t do that, Tristan,” a shocked Melbourne legend Garry Lyon said on the Fox Footy telecast.

“Maybe my eyes deceive me. I hope I haven’t seen what I thought I saw.”

The incident will be assessed by match review officer Michael Christian, who under tribunal guidelines has the power to refer serious acts of misconduct directly to the tribunal.

Former Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley was in 2002 suspended for a game for smearing blood on the guernsey of Geelong opponent Cameron Ling in a landmark case.

Xerri had moments earlier given away a 100-metre penalty for remonstrating with the umpire over a ruck infringement free kick and being slow to return the ball to Lachlan Blakiston. He was then bundled over after being shoved by McGrath into an oncoming Archie Roberts.

Amid the mayhem, Xerri, who suffered a blood nose from the incident, was left unguarded in North’s forward 50 as he recovered from the hit. He marked and goalled from a turnover by the Bombers.

It was from the push shove after this goal where Xerri made contact with McGrath.

“This is the issue here – he’s telling McGrath he’s got a blood nose, and that’s what you don’t want to see,” Lyon said of Xerri’s actions in a replay of the incident.

“That’s not what you want to see in the game.”

The Kangaroos were able to shut down the final minute, holding on for a two-goal win - despite failing to land a major in the final term.

The Roos have had their first win over the Bombers in a decade, and left the red and black dealing with their 16th-straight loss - and facing an equal club record losing streak of 17 next week when they face the Western Bulldogs.

Yikes, Zach Merrett has barely had a touch all night, but snaps successfully from the pocket to cut the Kangaroos’ lead to two goals with 1:30 mins left. Hang tight.

The Bombers have booted three goals in a row, and have slashed the Kangaroos’ lead to three goals with just over four minutes remaining. Hang tight.

Jye Caldwell delivers the first goal of the final term to cut the Kangaroos’ lead to five goals with just over 12 minutes remaining. It’s only the Bombers’ second since half-time. The Kangaroos fell apart late last week against the Eagles. Can they hang on?

Kangaroos tagger Finn O’Sullivan has added to a dirty night for the Bombers by holding playmaker Zach Merrett to only eight touches by the final change. O’Sullivan has 23 himself.

It’s been a strong third term by the Kangaroos, who will take a six-goal buffer into the final term.