Golden Grove has win overturned for fielding Crows top-up players

AN AMATEUR football club has been docked premiership points for fielding two players on the same weekend they lined up for Adelaide Crows’ reserves.

AN AMATEUR football club has been docked premiership points for fielding two players on the same weekend they lined up for Adelaide Crows’ reserves.

Crows top-up players Matthew Stent and Brock Castree played for Golden Grove in its division three clash with Flinders Park on Saturday — a day after being part of Adelaide’s SANFL squad against West Adelaide.

Under amateur league rules, players cannot take to the field for another team in the same round they play for their local club, apart from the league’s under-18 matches or school games.

Golden Grove won the match by 65 points but the league overturned the result and awarded Flinders Park the victory on Wednesday.

Kookaburras president Ian Graham said he had assumed the rule did not apply to Crows top-up players who were still tied to the club.

“We played them unbeknown to this rule and paid the consequences for it,” Graham said.

“We feel we didn’t do anything wrong.

“We’re disappointed obviously but that’s what the amateur league’s ruling is and we have to stand by it.

“The club’s confident we can make it (the win) up.”

League chief executive John Kernahan said the rule did not differentiate between Crows top-up players and those from other SANFL clubs.

“It’s to stop blokes from playing reserves say on a Friday night then fronting up and playing for their amateur league team the following day,” Kernahan said.

Castree won Golden Grove’s best and fairest last season and previously played for Central District.

Stent has also played for the Bulldogs.