Sport
26 June, 2026
Points are made: Will change be more than one match?
FOR TWO glorious hours on Saturday, the player points debacle that threatened to tarnish the appearance of superstar Gary Ablett junior for Newbridge was forgotten. But the challenge remains to fix this points drama around corporate promotional matches
A late call-up for ex-Saint and Kangaroo Nick Dal Santo to play for Bridgewater instead of former Geelong star Gary Rohan resolved the crisis and the focus rightly returned to the game itself.
More than 2000 fans flocked to Riverside Oval to see the Little Master – one of the best players in VFL/AFL history – and 322-gamer Dal Santo take the field.
It was a joyous occasion that lived up to all expectations, with 42-year-old Ablett playing superbly for the Maroons six years after his AFL retirement, and Dal Santo kicking the sealer for the Mean Machine in only his second game in 10 years.
Rohan, unfortunately cast as the villain in the points affair, had to content himself with joining Bridgewater’s coaching staff for the day. It was all so unnecessary.
AFL Victoria and the beer conglomerate CUB that set up the promotion which saw ex-AFL stars playing one-off games for community clubs could have avoided the points turmoil that was first revealed in the Loddon Herald.
Ablett was coming in as a two-point player under AFL rules, Rohan with seven points attached.
The brewery, in the words of one football administrator, had “gone rogue” on the promotion in its sixth year, essentially taking over the event and shutting out the AFL.
It was decided to adopt a “rivalry” theme, with a former player appearing for each club in a head-to-head meeting.
Previously, only one player took the field in a match, usually for a team that had a long history without on-field success..
What the promoters didn’t take into account – and AFL Victoria ultimately didn’t give an inch on – was the player points allocation for Ablett and Rohan.
Ablett, with only a handful of games since leaving the AFL in 2020, had to be fitted in to Newbridge’s cap of 46 points.
The much younger Rohan, who played last season with Port Fairy and has appeared three times this year for Ocean Grove, was listed as a seven-point player.
Bridgewater was horrified that a promotion it had not sought to be part of would disrupt its team for a crucial match, with several players needing to be dropped to squeeze Rohan into its 44-point allocation.
The Mean Machine appealed unsuccessfully to AFL Victoria, which insisted that the player points system was sacrosanct, leaving Rohan’s status in limbo.
In the end, a mad scramble saw Dal Santo drafted in last Monday as a one-pointer, easily fitting under the cap.
But still, the points didn’t add up.
When it was realised that Ablett had played two guest matches in Tasmania this season, his allocation was bumped up from two to four points and suddenly Newbridge had to get the calculator out.
A bit of communication and a bit of co-operation – a bit of common sense – could have eased everyone’s angst and let the stars do the talking.
It’s what our great country clubs deserve.