Tolland’s title aspirations have taken a hit with midfielder Bruno Andre handed a hefty six-game suspension for violent conduct following his scuffle with Henwood Park coach Matt Menser on Saturday.
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Football Wagga’s ruling rubs Andre out for the rest of the season, including all finals action.
Tolland management is currently deciding whether it will appeal Football Wagga’s decision, with the deadline set for Thursday afternoon.
Wolves president Maurie Hogan said the club was still early in its decision making process.
“We have a lot of information to gather before we can work out if the club has a chance of succeeding with an appeal,” Hogan said on Tuesday afternoon.
“We have more people to speak to and won’t make the decision until we’ve talked to Bruno again to make sure he’s happy with whichever way we decide to go.”
Hogan said the club was taking a cautious and considered approach.
“Sometimes you can be worse off if you appeal a suspension, so we have to be careful.
“The referees do a wonderful job so it’s a bit of a balancing act for us, respecting their decision while also doing the best thing by our players.”
The suspension comes at a particularly bad time for Tolland, having just hit a stunning patch of form with consecutive victories over ladder-leading Lake Albert and previously unbeaten Henwood Park.
It is also expected to be Andre’s final season in the Pascoe Cup before moving interstate, and recent form suggested he stood a strong chance of farewelling the club and the competition with a premiership.
Wolves co-coach Chris Ayton said his energetic midfielder would be sorely missed.
“He’s a crucial part of how we hold possession through the midfield,” Ayton said.
“He really holds everything together in the middle along with Masase (Kpaney).
“We’ll need to rethink the combinations that will get the job done for us in the midfield because he (Andre) really was they key to it.”
Andre spent the last two years playing up front before excelling in the midfield after co-coach Kyle Harrison strongly advocated for the positional change.
Wolves are set to round out the season with clashes against Cootamundra, Tumut and South Wagga.
They sit equal in points with second-placed Henwood Park and just one point behind reigning premiers Lake Albert.
