Lauderdale duo left in limbo as Bombers’ request for additional recruits knocked back by AFL Tas
A pair of VFL-listed players who joined a TSL club when the Victorian league was shut down have completed their two week isolation period — but are yet to be cleared by AFL Tasmania.
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LAUDERDALE’S two additional recruits have completed their 14 days of isolation but it remains unclear whether the duo will make their TSL debuts this weekend.
Richmond VFL pair Luke Nelson and Nathan Oakes left Melbourne for Hobart a fortnight ago to link up with the Bombers with the VFL season cancelled.
They can now officially train with the club after fulfilling their mandatory two-week stint in isolation, but the Bombers have not been given clearance from AFL Tasmania to register the duo.
Lauderdale already has the maximum four recruits on its books — second year midfielder Sam Burge and 2020 new faces Adrian Kalcovski, Nicholas Connors and Jeff McDonald.
The club has applied for an exemption for Nelson and Oakes, but has so far been denied.
It has already been a tumultuous year for Nelson, who had linked with the Casey Demons as a supplementary-list player when Richmond was forced to withdraw its VFL team.
He trained with Casey once before the Demons also pulled out amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shut down the majority of suburban football in Victoria.
Nelson played seven matches for the Tigers last year in the VFL, kicking five goals in his second appearance, while Oakes did not feature but was retained on Richmond’s list following a strong pre-season.
“I know ‘Windy’ [coach Darren Winter] and our football department are working with AFL Tasmania to try and find a resolution, hopefully that can all be sorted by the weekend,” assistant coach Clint Brown said ahead of Lauderdale’s clash with North Hobart.
“That would be ideal if we could have all of them that we got over and got employment for and found places to live, it would be a great scenario, given the majority come from Victoria where there is no football at all.”
Brown was reluctant to comment on whether it was a good look for the TSL to be sending potential players back home.
“I am not going to get into that, I can see both sides of the fence, there are rules in place but there has been other exemptions given in the past so I guess that’s why we have gone down the path we have.”
The Bombers will be forced to make at least on change with Mitch Anderton ruled out with concussion, with Alex Hevey and Nick Baker, who were both late withdrawals last week, pushing for recalls.
AFL Tasmania State Manager — Public Affairs and Infrastructure Damian Gill said management considered Lauderdale’s request for an exemption for Oakes and Nelson, but found insufficient grounds for an approval.
“Lauderdale Football Club is permitted four interstate players to be registered under the TSL rules, the determination of who is included in the four is strictly at the discretion of the Lauderdale Football Club.
“Lauderdale Football Club applied for an exemption to rule 1.5.4 — interstate/international players. TSL management considered the matter and did not find sufficient grounds to grant an exemption”.
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