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‘We’d get fined if we did something incompetent’: Scott furious after Roos’ captain injury

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Kangaroos captain Jack Ziebell was forced from the field in the third quarter of North Melbourne's 37-point loss to Geelong at Kardinia Park after crashing into an LED advertising board on the boundary fence.

External Link: AFL.com.au twitter: "Jack Ziebell cut both his knees in this passage against the Cats."

Ziebell suffered cuts to his knees and was sidelined by the umpires under the blood rule, spending almost 10 minutes out of the game while medical staff stemmed the blood flowing from the wounds.

He told Grandstand the signage was a hazard that could easily injure players.

"From my point of view, I think player safety is above everything else and at the minute that fence isn't too safe," he said.

"I didn't hit it too hard and it gashed me open pretty easily."

The North Melbourne skipper said he was lucky it was only a minor injury but the interruption it caused to the game was far from ideal.

"It's not really that bad to tell the truth, but I had to go off the ground for eight to 10 minutes and that has an effect on our team and rotation and structures," he said.

"If that can be avoided I think it should be looked at."

External Link: Soundcloud: ABC Grandstand interview with North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell

Kangaroos coach Brad Scott expressed his anger at the incident during the post-game press conference.

"We'd get fined if we did something incompetent," Scott said.

"The AFL won't fine themselves I'm sure — they certainly won't give us any money back."

External Link: ABC Grandstand tweet: ""Player safety is above all else and at the minute that fence isn't too safe." Listen to Ziebell's full interview and his comments after #AFLCatsNorth here: https://ab.co/2Md17JT"

Geelong defenders Mark Blicavs and Zach Tuohy were injured under similar circumstances during their round three clash against West Coast at Perth Stadium.

The two players suffered hand injuries after colliding with the boundary fence, prompting stadium management to cover their signage with a protective coating to prevent future injuries.

North Melbourne Football Club released a statement saying they would raise their concerns with the AFL and stadium management, but it remained to be seen whether they would introduce similar safety measures at Kardinia Park.

Ziebell said he was sure the club would take the necessary steps to rectify the issue with the stadium and prevent further injuries.

"I'm sure we'll go through what needs to be gone through on the weekend, and the club will take care of what needs to be taken care of," he said.

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