By Adrian Ceddia
BRUNSWICK Power’s 2006 Western Region Football League (WRFL) campaign is over prematurely after the league barred it from play for the rest of the season.
For the second week running, Brunswick could not field its senior teams on direction from the league, stemming from an incident involving a dispute between player and goal umpire last month.
According to league officials, the Power player involved was not on the official team sheet, thus infringing on strict WRFL guidelines and warranting a tough response from the league.
“An unregistered player badly threatened an umpire where it’s now in the hands of police,” WRFL chief executive officer Damien Phillips said.
“It’s the third incident in three years that this has happened involving this club. Enough is enough.”
As a result of the ban, opposition teams scheduled to play Brunswick for the remainder of the season will be awarded the four competition points.
In addition, teams will receive the for and against score of the team with the biggest winning margin from that round.
Brunswick will end the season with just one victory in 13 appearances – a 57-point win over bottom-placed Western Magpies in round three.
Phillips said it has not been decided what course of action would be taken on Brunswick Power in regard to the 2007 season.
The Power joins Central Altona as the second Division Two club to be banned from competition this season.
In total, three senior teams in the WRFL have failed to see the year out, with Division One club Seddon withdrawing after nine rounds.
