Ovens and Murray: Lavington player Jonathon Grove hit with 12-match suspension

The Ovens and Murray tribunal has handed down one of its biggest penalties for an incident in a reserves match last month. Find out all the details.

The Ovens and Murray league tribunal has handed down one of the biggest penalties across the state this season to Lavington reserves player Jonathon Grove.

Grove was outed for 12 matches and will miss the rest of the season, but four matches of the penalty have been suspended until the end of the 2023 season.

The incident, in which Grove landed a blow to the head of Myrtleford player Nick Ferguson, left Ferguson with a broken jaw.

There was no report made by the umpires in the match and the incident was referred to investigator Rick Delmonte.

Grove pleaded guilty at the tribunal hearing on Wednesday night. He had suffered a similar injury himself in a match in 2015.

The North Albury player who struck Grove in the 2015 match, Coel Taylor, copped a 10-match ban.

The latest case follows a serious incident in a recent East Gippsland league senior match, which has led to Lindenow’s Kane Ashwood facing court on a charge of recklessly causing serious injury to Paynesville player Caleb Martin.