AN appeal has been launched in regards to the eight-game suspension delivered to Mid South East footballer Leroy Larson, in an attempt to avoid the lifetime ban from the game he now faces.
The Kalangadoo Football Club has handed over the $4000 prescribed fee in a bid to overturn the eight-game penalty for striking which was handed to the star recruit last month.
He had pleaded guilty to striking Robe Player Craig Pitt on June 2 and the severe penalty handed out by the MSEFL tribunal has triggered a lifetime ban.
According to nationwide rules applied by the AFL, a player is automatically de-registered once he reaches a lifetime accumulation of 16 matches.
Larson had already accumulated 10 matches in penalties before joining the Magpies at the start of 2018.
He had an excellent start to the season by winning the best player award in the pre-season carnival at Kongorong and later representing the MSEFL in the SE zone carnival at Robe.
Kalangadoo president Adam Box said the $4000 fee and paperwork was lodged with MSEFL secretary Naomi Mitchell on Friday.
He said he was not sure of the next step in the appeal process, but he was hoping the matter would soon be resolved.
Box said the Magpies had taken legal advice on the situation, but would not disclose its source.
He said Larson was still training at Kalangadoo and was being joined by his younger brother Blake Larson from the Northern Territory.
“There is a positive tone at Kalangadoo and this (tribunal) has brought us closer together,” Box said.
It is understood that $1500 of the $4000 fee will be returned to Kalangadoo if the appeal against the severity of the penalty is successful.
