Forestville stop Jess Fergus from joining Southern Tigers’ top side

AN ADELAIDE basketball club won’t let its premiership captain leave to play in a rival’s top side — they’ll only give her clearance for a lower division. Here’s why ...

Women's Basketball. North Adelaide v Forestville, at Hillcrest Stadium. Jess Fergus (Forestville).

AN Adelaide basketball club won’t let its premiership captain leave to play in a rival’s top side — they’ll only give her clearance for a lower division.

Forestville Basketball Club is stopping Jess Fergus from playing for Southern Tigers’ top side, in accordance with a league by-law.

The Eagles have cleared Fergus, who won three titles and the 2009 grand final MVP at the club, but only to line up in division two or lower for the Tigers.

Basketball SA by-laws state that once teams have transferred two players from last season’s roster, a third is ineligible to join a Premier League rival unless given approval from the parent club.

Forestville allowed sisters Hannah and Tara Robinson to join Southern over summer despite a separate by-law stipulating two players from one team cannot transfer to another in the same off-season without the original club’s permission.

Tigers women’s coach Tracy York said she was disappointed with the situation.

“We train nearby where Jess lives, she wanted a change, she wanted to be coached by me so she asked for a clearance,” York said.

“They can clear her (to play division one) or choose to uphold the bylaw, which is what they’re doing at the moment.”

Fergus, 28, suited up in division two for the Tigers last week, scoring a team-high 22 points.

The by-law allows the guard to play Premier League for the Tigers from next season.

Southern president Mick Fisher said he was hopeful the issue would soon be resolved.

Forestville president Milan Djurasevich said the board supported coach Sharon Simons’ view that it was unreasonable to clear a third player to the Tigers.

“What we’ve done is applied the by-law as it was intended to be applied, which was to prevent players en masse from going to the same other club,” Djurasevich said.

“If Jess wants to go to another club (other than Southern), we’re happy to clear her.”

Simons said the club’s decision was “nothing personal”.

“It’s unfortunate who the person is but it wouldn’t matter who it was,” Simons said.

Fergus could not be contacted for comment.

Basketball SA chief executive Mark Hubbard said clubs were given the chance to amend by-laws late last year.

He said the league would review the by-law for the 2016 season.