'Tip of the iceberg': Crows captain backed after online abuse

Hawks co-captain Jai Newcombe has backed Jordan Dawson after the Crow was the target of online abuse

JORDAN Dawson has received strong support from fellow AFL captain Jai Newcombe, who says the social media trolling of players is much worse than what is being reported.

Adelaide has gone to the police after Dawson was abused online following its season-ending loss to Brisbane.

Earlier this season, Newcombe's Hawthorn teammate Mabior Chol reported online racist abuse.

"It can be pretty toxic and pretty ugly. There's a lot out there that doesn't get shown – it's important that Jordan has done what he's done," Newcombe said on Monday.

"We had similar with Mabior earlier in the year – actually calling that stuff out. It's pretty ugly, it's disrespectful, it's so many things that we shouldn't have to deal with, in a way.

"I would say that's almost the tip of the iceberg. There is a whole lot of that, that goes on pretty frequently, that players have to deal with.

"There's too much of it going on."

Newcombe said he is careful not to respond to abusive messages.

"As much as I'd love to, I don't – I'm quite good at just skimming through some of the DMs or hidden requests that pop up," he said.

"I don't read them too often."

The Hawks co-captain was asked what more could be done to curb the problem.

Newcombe said it is a matter of making sure that players have the right support when they decide to call out online trolls.

"There are so many more out there than what we actually see. It's a bit of a tricky one," he said.

"Acting on something when players are comfortable enough to put themselves on the line and actually show what's being said – (it's) making sure they get the support they need to feel as though they're valued."