Last night on Channel 9'sย Footy Classified, The Age journalist Caroline Wilson controversially commented on Saints players Tim Membrey and Seb Ross missing their round 13 game to return home.

Membrey and Ross both elected to skip the Saints clash against the Crows in Cairns on Saturday - which they ended up losing - to travel home to Melbourne to be with their families.

OPINION: Wilson's comments on 'parenthood vs football' are irresponsible and dangerous

Ross' wife Marnie had just given birth to twins, whilst Membrey's partner is expecting the birth of their child in the coming weeks.

Despite the football world sympathising with their decision, Wilson had a differing opinion.

โ€œMarnie gave birth to twins five or six weeks ago so he missed the game where the twins were born, and he wanted to be with his wife (again) - he wasnโ€™t prepared to stay in Sydney and go to Cairns for another week,โ€ Wilson said onย Footy Classified.

โ€œThis despite the fact several senior leaders at the club asked him to stay. Heโ€™s a leader of the club and they asked him to stay.

โ€œI must stress there is no medical problem with the twins. I know itโ€™s tough when youโ€™re home alone with twins, but there were other family people who maybe could have been with her but he thought he had to be with her.

โ€œI think supporters and sponsors and members and other teammates would have every right to be a bit disappointed.

โ€œ(With) Membrey less (than Ross) ... I would not be making these comments. There was no medical emergency here.โ€

Immediately, there was backlash from all corners of the footballing world.

This morning onย SEN Breakfast,ย Melbourne great Garry Lyon and co-host Tim Watson - who is the uncle of Seb Ross - defended the players for putting their families first.

โ€œSo, Caro is suggesting she knows better than the Ross family? I would suggest thatโ€™s a conversation she would not want to have with Seb Rossโ€™ wife and/or mother or family members that she has in her opinion said there are no medical problems,โ€ Lyon stated.

โ€œHow she can make a judgement on the family situation of a young mother with twins from afar and say โ€˜why didnโ€™t they bow to peer pressure these blokes and stayโ€™.

Watson confirmed there was no medical emergency with Ross' children, but still said Wilson had missed the mark wildly.

โ€œI donโ€™t think anyone whoโ€™s not had twins could understand what it might be like having two babies and the anxiousness and the stress associated with that," Watson exclaimed.

โ€œExtraordinary that she of all people would say that.โ€

Online, there was even more backlash from ex-players and fans alike.

Former West Coast premiership player Will Schofield unloaded on the 61-year-old last night, citing his own personal experiences.

"Pulled myself out of a game Vs Sydney to ensure I was at the birth of my first child (to support my wife) in 2018," said Schofield in response to the footage.

"We lost - Iโ€™m a battler, so may not have made a difference, best decision I made in my football careerโ€ฆ would do it again 1000 times. WTF is this take?!?!?"ย 

His retweet again only this morning confirmed his stance on the issue.

โ€œUnder what circumstances does taking leave from your job, to support your family and children, make it ok for this sort of commentary?" Schofield wrote.

โ€œIโ€™ve heard similar views from others classified as โ€˜a little bit old schoolโ€™ garbage. Outdated like a fossil takes should be held accountable.โ€

In more of a comical response, his ex-teammate Xavier Ellis sarcastically remarked, "seriously Tim and Seb you owe it to Pepper Money, Deliveroo and Dare Iced Coffee (St Kilda's sponsors). Get the zoom app. 6 goals up."

SENย Executive Producer Julian de Stoop also weighed in on Caro's comments over Twitter too.

"St Kilda led Adelaide by 6 goals in tough conditions. Not having Membrey or Ross not the issue. Family more important than football. Very poor take," de Stoop remarked.

Former journalist Erin Marie also made her view pretty clear first thing in the morning.

It is fair to say that these comments look like they will be in the spotlight for some time yet.