Sport
15 May, 2024
Mellington contests strike charge at tribunal
LODDON Valley football goal kicking sensation Josh Mellington’s career was in the balance on Wednesday night.. Mellington was fronting the tribunal to contest a report for striking in Saturday’s round. The Bears Lagoon Serpentine spearhead was...
LODDON Valley football goal kicking sensation Josh Mellington’s career was in the balance on Wednesday night..
Mellington was fronting the tribunal to contest a report for striking in Saturday’s round.
The Bears Lagoon Serpentine spearhead was booked by umpires in the first quarter of the clash against Bridgewater and opted to go straight to the tribunal.
Mellington, the former Fremantle Docker who crossed to Janiember Park this season from Goulburn Valley club Benalla, has already been scrubbed out for 14 matches in his career.
A two-week suspension would take his tally to 16 games and see Mellington’s automatically deregistered as a player under AFL rules.
He had been offered a one-match early plea penalty after Saturday’s incident.
Serpentine opted to go to the tribunal after reviewing video footage of the incident.
Mellington has taken Loddon Valley football by storm, kicking 45 goals in the first five rounds.
He was yellow carded on Saturday and finished with just four goals as Bears Lagoon Serpentine went down to the Mean Machine by 26 points.
Bridgewater’s Lachlan Sharp, Mellington’s early rival for the goal kicking award, finished the day with three goals.
It was the second consecutive loss for the Bears against another of the “top four” sides. They were within reach of reigning premiers Marong until half time the previous week before the Panthers broke clear to win by 38 points.
Pyramid Hill is the other side again clearly cementing itself in the upper echelon.
Despite early losses to Marong and Bears Lagoon Serpentine, the Bulldogs put their season on track with a massive victory of Bridgewater and followed up last Saturday with four points at the expense of Mitiamo.
Mellington was recruited by the Dockers from Murray Bushrangers in 2010 and made six senior appearances.
