Players and umpires were left scratching their heads at Rokewood on Saturday after Daylesford fielded an extra player for a portion of the reserves fixture between the Bulldogs and the Grasshoppers.
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Play was stopped in the fourth quarter of the round 15 clash as player numbers were counted, and Daylesford was found to have 19 players on the field.
While in previous seasons the Bulldogs’ score to that point would have been reset at zero, an AFL Victoria rule change at the start of the season meant Daylesford was able to keep its score
Under the new ruling, the extra player was sent off and the Grasshoppers were awarded a free kick and a 50-metre penalty. The Bulldogs went on to register a 31-point victory.
Due to the ambiguity surrounding the rule change, umpires were forced to make contact with league operations manager Diane Ryan mid-game to clarify what the appropriate course of action was.
Rokewood-Corindhap secretary Mark Harris said the club had written to the league asking for a ruling on the incident.
“We’re just asking for a ruling because it’s outside of the rules and it could have been happening for up-to three quarters,” Harris said. “At the end of the day we just want a fair and level playing field.”
Umpires were asked to file a report for the league after the game, which will now be the subject of an independent investigation.
Any further punishments for the club following the investigation will be at the discretion of the CHFL’s board of management.
Ryan said the investigation would be “quick”, but did not give a definitive timeline for the league’s response.
“The board of management will have a look at the rule book, but the problem is we don’t know how long the extra player was on for,” Ryan said.
“Given the new rules it’s unprecedented, and I haven’t seen it happen before in the 13 years I’ve been operations manager.”