MPFNL 2023: Frankston Bombers penalised for player points breach

A Mornington Peninsula football league team’s quest for finals has been turned on its head after being docked premiership points for breaching the player points system. Here’s its reaction.

A potential finals-bound MPFNL side could be investigated for a possible player points system breach.

A Mornington Peninsula football league team’s quest for finals has been turned on its head after being docked premiership points for breaching the player points system.

The Frankston Bombers were found to have exceeded the points cap with three players in its 52-point win over Sorrento in Round 4.

They were all under 19 eligible players, including one who had crossed to the club this season because his previous club wasn’t fielding an under-19 side. The rules committee classified him as a five-point player because he’d played with three different clubs in three years.

On Wednesday, AFL South East docked the Frankston Bombers four premiership points (and awarded those points to Sorrento) and stripped them of their percentage.

Bombers players were told of the situation on Wednesday night and the team’s leadership group met with coach John Brown to discuss what it meant in the context of the season.

The Bombers remain in fifth spot on the MPFNL Division 1 ladder, but instead of being three games inside the top five, now they are only one game in, with no percentage.

Sorrento, sixth, is suddenly back in the finals race, just a game behind.

The Frankston Bombers. Picture: Valeriu Campan

It’s effectively an eight-point turnaround.

Brown said the Bombers would appeal the sanctions, which he described as “manifestly excessive”.

“Especially with the fact it’s on three under 19s, who have played some senior football and two of those have been at our club for three years,” he said.

“We certainly will be appealing the decision.”

Brown said the set back would “galvanise” the Bombers as they continue to chase a finals berth.

“We’ve been working hard all season so I have no doubt the imposed sanction as it stands will galvanise the players enough to continue winning games of football to play finals,” he said.

“So destiny is in our own control. We just need to keep focused on the job at hand each Saturday.”

Brown added: “In the end it’s a game of football. We’ve got volunteers who commit their time and all their effort. The sun will rise again and we continue to put our best foot forward.”

The Frankston Bombers face Langwarrin, Dromana, Rosebud, Red Hill and Mt Eliza in the remaining five rounds.

Sorrento plays Red Hill, Langwarrin, Mt Eliza, Bonbeach and Dromana.

EARLIER

AFL South East is said to be investigating a possible breach of the player points system in the Mornington Peninsula football league involving a finals-bound side.

Leader Local Footy understands the club in question incorrectly evaluated several of their players under the PPS in a match earlier in the season, putting them beyond their allocated “points cap”.

“One team could fall out of finals calculations,’’ a source said.

Penalties for breaches range from fines, loss of match points, or even exclusion from finals and relegation.

AFL South East’s general manager of operations Haydn O’Connor was tight-lipped when asked about a possible investigation.

“We’re doing regular audits across the whole competition,’’ he said.

“That’s all I can say at the moment.’’

O’Connor said there were “challenges’’ around the player points system across the competition.

“We regularly audit games and clubs,’’ he said.

“Clubs have the responsibility to upload them, there’s always going to be a strain on volunteers given some of the clauses that are written into the PPS, they’re quite convoluted.’’

The Player Points System — introduced in 2016 — operates like a salary cap, and is used to create more equal competitions in country football.

Under the system, local players are worth just one point, while recruits from other clubs are worth more, depending on the quality of the league they have played in.

Former AFL players, for example, are worth the maximum of six points.

VAFA club Beaumaris was docked premiership points this week for fielding an ineligible player.