Southern league 2019: Division 1 reserves match called off at Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Colts president Steve Duvnjak was so worried about the safety of players in a reserves match last Saturday that he asked the umpires to call it off.

The Port Melbourne Colts-Cheltenham reserves game was abandoned.

A Southern league president says he has no regrets about instigating the abandonment of a rough-house Division 1 reserves game last Saturday.

The Port Melbourne Colts and Cheltenham match was called off after verbal clashes between players and spectators at three-quarter time at Murphy Reserve.

Colts president Steve Duvnjak and a Cheltenham official approached the umpires before the start of the last quarter and asked them to stop the match.

Duvnjak told Leader the umpires consulted the captains and they agreed to abandon it.

Colts were leading the Rosellas comfortably.

Duvnjak said there had been spite in the game and he was worried about the safety of players.

Two players, one from each side, were reported and will face the Southern league tribunal.

The Port Melbourne club is considering asking the league to investigate the conduct of another Cheltenham player.

A young Colts player took a heavy hit to the head during the game, left the ground with concussion and was taken to a nearby doctor’s surgery for treatment.

“I initiated it. I said to the umpires, ‘Let’s finish this game now, it can’t continue’,’’ Duvnjak, who is also the Colts’ reserves team manager, said.

“I thought it was the right thing to do, before anything else happened.

“There’d been some things happen, some unnecessary incidents, and there were no yellow cards, and I didn’t want it to get any worse.

“Obviously I didn’t have the right to call it off and I knew there would be (repercussions). But I thought, you know what, I don’t care, this is ridiculous, it’s a game of reserves football.

“I think the right thing was done.’’

Port Melbourne Colts president Steve Duvnjak and coach Lindsay Gilbee.

He said there was “almost a melee’’ at three-quarter time between reserves players, members of the crowd and senior players who had gone on to the ground to warm up.

Duvnjak said the game at least ended with players shaking hands.

The senior match between Port Melbourne Colts and Cheltenham was played without incident.

SFNL chief executive officer Lee Hartman said he was “very disappointed’’ with the episode.

He said the league had asked both clubs for reports.

“You never want games called off … we’re making big efforts to clean up the league, we’ve made that pretty well known,’’ Hartman said.

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He said he did not believe a young female umpire was singled out for abuse from spectators.

Duvnjak said the Colts had great respect for Cheltenham and the abandonment of the game wouldn’t change that.

“They’re a fantastic footy club. We love playing them, we love going to the ground and hopefully they enjoy coming down to Port Melbourne,’’ he said.

“I don’t think the actions of a few (reserves players) will alter that.’’

Rosellas secretary Col Anderson wasn’t at the ground at the time the match was called off. He said this morning he couldn’t comment ahead of the league investigation.