Three players, a runner and a spectator are facing match bans and sanctions after a violent grand final brawl in regional Victoria last weekend.
Key points:
- Players, a spectator and a runner have been sanctioned over a violent country football brawl
- The brawl erupted during the Moulamein – Nullawil grand final on Saturday September 10
- All five people pleaded guilty to the charges laid by the Golden Rivers Football League
The brawl took place late in the fourth quarter of the Golden Rivers Football League decider between Nullawil and Moulamein at Nullawil, north-west of Bendigo.
A match review panel found a Moulamein-aligned spectator jumped the fence and “engaged in serious conduct” with a Nullawil player.
The panel banned the spectator from “participating” in any league games until the 2025 season.
Two Moulamein players were suspended for six weeks and a Nullawil player has been sidelined for four matches.
‘Abusive and insulting’
The league also found one Moulamein player ran from the interchange bench to the forward pocket to participate in the brawl.
That player was reported for league offences including intentionally striking another person and engaging in serious conduct.
A runner for Moulamein was reported for “behaving in an abusive, insulting, threatening or obscene manner towards or in relation to an umpire”.
All five people pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them by the league.
The league said in a statement it had a policy enforcing harsher penalties during finals.
Nullawil won the match by 68 points, giving them their third straight premiership and denying Moulamein the chance to win its first flag since 1988.
Source: AFL NEWS ABC
