Newtown & Chilwell reserves team officially forfeited its match against South Barwon on last Saturday, which it won on the field by 10 points in a thrilling last quarter comeback, due to fielding an ineligible player.
The win would have put the Eagles into the grand final, but now they must beat St Mary’s in the preliminary final this weekend to advance.
The Eagles, who outscored South Barwon 6.8 (44) to 4.10 (34), were found to be in breach of rule 22.4.1 of the AFL Barwon Football Competition Rules, resulting in the forfeiture of the match.
Newtown & Chilwell president Shaun McWilliam deflected discussion from any other parties at the club, saying ultimately he was responsible for ensuring such errors didn’t occur.
“It was a mistake made on our behalf, and as the president the responsibility is with me rather than anyone else to make sure this doesn’t happen,” he said.
“Footy clubs are about backing each other and looking after each other, so that’s what we’ll do from here. We’ll get on with it and look forward to the game this weekend.”
McWilliam said the reserves players were all notified individually of the potential breach on Sunday, and were focused on winning this week’s clash against St Mary’s.
“We called every one of them last night when we realised this was a possibility,” he said.
“Every player was called, and there was some initial disappointment, but now we’re all excited for the challenge.
“That’s how we’ve got to see it, as a challenge. And let’s put it into perspective; we’ve got another game of football to play, so let’s have a crack at it.
“[The players] are a really great bunch, very coachable, they’ve had a really great year and they’re pretty resilient.”
