WRFL: Deer Park hit with eight charges for breaching salary cap
A 10-month investigation into powerhouse WRFL club Deer Park has concluded, with the club facing a string of charges for breaching the salary cap in 2018. But the Lions plan to strenuously defend the findings.
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One of Victoria’s powerhouse suburban clubs could be banned from featuring in finals this season after an investigation found it breached the salary cap in the 2018 season.
Deer Park, which has claimed the past six premierships in the Western Region Football League, is set to answer eight charges at a hearing later this month following a 10-month investigation.
Three AFL Victoria integrity officers have been reviewing the club’s books since October and concluded the Lions’ player payments totalled $225,200 last year — $10,200 above the salary cap.
They ruled that 50 per cent of coach Marc Bullen’s salary should be included in the total player payments, which tipped Deer Park over the $215,000 cap.
According to the investigation, the former Essendon player made six appearances for the club’s reserves team in 2018.
It is understood Bullen, who is a non-playing coach, was helping an undermanned twos team.
Deer Park is planning to strenuously defend the charges and has not ruled out legal action if it is found guilty.
It is understood it has also been left frustrated by the drawn-out investigation.
A three-person player payments disciplinary committee, which will include a lawyer, will be established to hear the charges.
Fifteen people, comprising 11 current and former players plus officials from rival clubs, were interviewed as part of the investigation.
It is believed Bullen was not one of those interviewed.
Outside of Bullen’s charge, it is understood most of the charges relate to administrative errors.
The salary cap was introduced in competitions across the state in 2017, with education the focus of the first year.
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Leagues can apply a range of penalties to clubs found to be over the salary cap, from the stripping of premierships in extreme cases to bans from finals, fines and suspension of players.
The disciplinary committee can rule a club ineligible to receive premiership points for past and future matches, which could leave Deer Park facing the prospect of watching from the sidelines in September if a guilty verdict is handed down.
The Lions sit third on the ladder with an 11-5 record, one game clear of sixth-ranked St Albans with two rounds remaining in the home-and-away season.
Deer Park is chasing a slice of history this year, with VAFA outfit Old Xaverians (1995-2000) the only other club in metropolitan Melbourne to win six flags in a row in a top-flight competition.
The Lions won the 2013 decider by a solitary point, and the 2017 grand final by three points.
Their other triumphs in the season’s showpiece fixture have come by 77, 136, 114 and 48 points, underlining the gulf between the best side in Division 1 and the rest.
At least five WRFL clubs have been subject to investigations from AFL Victoria’s integrity team in recent months.
“We certainly have continued to adopt an aggressive approach in regards to player points and to that end have the lowest cap in metro footy to I guess further drive and incentivise junior development,” League chief executive Matthew Duck said last year.
“We’ve coupled that with arguably the most comprehensive auditing process ever conducted by the AFL Victoria integrity team.
“That’s currently ongoing throughout a number of clubs — and that’s across all three divisions.”
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AFL Victoria has more than 20 integrity officers and there will be up to 50 audits this year.
In March 2018, Torquay was slapped with $20,000 in fines and a raft of sanctions for going $3040 over the Bellarine league’s $100,000 salary cap the previous year.
MPNFL club Hastings self-reported it was almost $50,000 over the competition’s $150,000 payments ceiling in February last year.
The Blues were fined $45,000, with $35,000 suspended for two years pending any further breaches.
Essendon District league club Aberfeldie was found to be $9595 over the cap in 2017 and was also hit with a $10,000 penalty.
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