Aberdeen Oppose Scone's Points Win

Newcastle Herald

Friday May 21, 2004

Craig Kerry - Up the Valley

ABERDEEN rugby league club are not upset about being docked four competition points for failing to cross out the names of two players who did not play from their team sheets.

They just do not think the Scone under-18 and reserve grade teams they defeated in round one deserve to get them.

That is the belief of Aberdeen club secretary David Dever after the club lodged an appeal to the Group 21 board last week.

Aberdeen lost their points because reserve-grader Mark Dallah and under-18 player David Murnane were placed on round-one team sheets and did not sign them.

But neither player was at the game.

Murnane was in training for a junior international taekwondo meet in Italy next month and Dallah had work commitments.

But because Aberdeen officials did not take their names off the sheets, they were deemed to have made qualification breaches.

Although disappointed, Dever said the club accepted their mistake.

But he questioned why Scone gained the points even though the errors did not disadvantage them.

Group 21 secretary Robert Lowrie said the Country Rugby League constitution brings the breach come under the ``unqualified players" rules, which state the opposition team gain any points from the game.

He said players named on submitted team sheets are deemed to have played.

``Unlike other competitions, like Newcastle and Sydney, we don't have any video of the games, so it is impossible sometimes to prove who is playing and who is not when issues are raised after games," he said.

Lowrie said the appeals committee was likely to hear the case next week.

© 2004 Newcastle Herald

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