EDFL: Greenvale set to win over Strathmore despite headcount saga

The margin remains unclear but Greenvale is guaranteed victory against Strathmore in the Essendon District Football League premier division match.

Flying towards another win, the Jets were stopped in their tracks when Strathmore called for a head count in the third quarter.

It was found that the Jets had an extra player on the field. They previously had a player sent off, so they should have had only 17 players on the field at the time.

The Jets score was wiped and then reinstated.

As it stands, the Jets won the match 17.20 (122) – 5.6 (36). But the league’s Facebook page states that Greenvale’s score may be revised to 6.10 (46), the score kicked after the head count.

Jets coach Shannon Grant said he won’t go into details about what happened as the league was investigating.

“I’m extremely proud of how they conducted themselves,” Grant said.

“They played extremely well and contested the ball the whole game.

“The league will make a decision and that will be for the powers that be. It is important that we’ll get the win either way.”

Grant said he wasn’t sure when a decision would be made, but added the club would likely speak with the league on Monday.

Other than the controversy, it was a good day for the Jets.

Matthew Smith and  Christopher Spinella kicked three goals each and James Rohan was best on ground.

“It was a good day,” Grant said. “It was challenging with the wind and it would have been nice to kick a few more goals.

“The boys are progressing well and trying to understand what we are putting in place.

“The next few weeks we have good opportunities to work on some of the things we’ve been working on.”

Former AFL player Ed Lower made his debut for the club, albeit in the reserves.

Grant said the boys would be given the weekend off with the club having a bye due to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

On its website, the EDFL said it would investigate the events that led to a head count and that both clubs will be asked for their version of events as part of the EDFL investigation to determine the final score of the game.