An unbeaten junior team has been forced to forfeit its first final after league curveball

A Collingwood premiership hero has slammed a local junior footy league’s decision to include all teams in finals action calling it ‘bulls***’ and ‘leftie wokeism’.

Picture: Hamish Blair

Legendary local footy coach Mick McGuane has hit out at a local junior competition’s decision to play an all inclusive finals series with the top-team forced to forfeit its first final.

The East Brighton Vampires, who finished top of the South Metro Junior Football League’s Under-14 Division 1, won all 10 games and finished with a percentage of 368.78.

But a Brighton Grammar School camp this week kept 12 of their players out of their first final.

This masthead first reported on Monday that the Vampires forfeited their match against Hampton Rovers which had been scheduled to be played on Tuesday.

Now they’ll face Beaumaris in a preliminary final on Sunday afternoon for a place in the grand final.

The SMJFL’s decision was heavily criticised on social media on Wednesday evening by many including former Carlton and Collingwood player McGuane.

“Really. Stop the rot. Stop peddling out bullshit as to why decisions are made of this nature. Give the kids a chance to become resilient and understand what winning and losing is all about,” he wrote.

Another social media user said it would stop players from continuing to play footy.

“Couldn’t possibly be a worse way of going about retention of junior footballers, good way to kill the league,” they said.

Picture: Hamish Blair

The clash of dates angered parents, who say the league decided only recently to change the finals structure and allow all 10 teams to contest them.

On its website the league said it had decided to allow all 10 teams in the Division 1 and Division 2 mixed competitions to play finals.

“This decision has been taken in the interests of player enjoyment, retention and encouragement,’’ it said.

Rule 24 of the SMJFL bylaws state the CEO, Matthew Brown, can decide the manner and venue of the finals how he sees fit.

“A finals series shall be conducted in all other competitions and shall be conducted in such a manner as is decided by the CEO from time to time,” it says.

“All finals matches shall be played at such grounds as the CEO shall determine.”

Brown has not responded to questions about the situation.

East Brighton Vampires declined to comment, mindful of a league policy in which clubs can be penalised if they speak to the media.