St Joseph’s is breathing a sigh of relief ahead of next week’s GFNL Grand Final after James Gow accepted a reprimand for an incident in Saturday’s second semi-final win over Colac.
After a request from the umpires, AFL Barwon’s Match Review Panel looked at a collision between Gow and Tigers gun Ben McCarthy.
The MRP found the contact was front-on, and was graded careless, high contact, and low impact, drawing a one-week suspension.
However, an early guilty plea means Gow can escape with a reprimand and is free to play in the decider against the winner of the preliminary final clash between Colac and St Mary’s.
The MRP also looked at contact between Joeys’ Josh Nurnaitis and Tigers veteran Kody Spokes.
Contact was deemed incidental, with both players contesting the ball.
While no vision was available of a head clash between St Joseph’s’ Jack Mullen and an unknown Colac player.
In the GDFNL, Bell Post Hill’s Sam Harmer will make a delayed start to the 2026 season after lodging an early guilty plea and accepting a one-match suspension for a dangerous tackle on East Geelong’s Ben Crombie in Sunday’s preliminary final loss.
The Panther was cited for rough conduct, with the MRP grading the offence as careless conduct, high contact, and medium impact, drawing a two-match suspension.
Meanwhile, high contact by Bell Post Hill ruck Liam Meyrich on East Geelong milestone man Sam Lowe was deemed incidental, with Meyrich’s action viewed as a legitimate spoiling action.
X: @krockfootball
