North Melbourne young gun Jason Horne-Francis was involved in a fiery verbal altercation with Carlton’s Jack Silvagni during Saturday night’s match at Marvel Stadium.
Last year’s No.1 draft pick clattered into Silvagni late in the third quarter as the two exchanged verbals after an initial scuffle broke out.
Horne-Francis had earlier stepped in to defend Roos teammate Tarryn Thomas, who was on the receiving end of a heavy bump from Blues defender Liam Stocker.
The young Roo says his natural competitive instincts came out as he looked to fly for the flag for his team.
“I think it started with the hit on Tarryn (Thomas),” Horne-Francis told Sportsday.
“He was a bit sore after that and I thought I’d go and help one of my teammates out and that’s what I did.
“I don’t think some of the Carlton boys liked it and then obviously there was a late bump that I did behind the play and that fired it up a bit.
“I guess it was just my competitiveness coming out.
“It felt like the game was slipping a bit and me being as competitive as I am, I didn’t want to lose.”
Horne-Francis received a Rising Star nomination for his 20-disposal performance in North Melbourne’s 50-point loss to Carlton.
The 18-year-old is averaging 19.1 touches and four clearances in his debut season so far.