Three Goannas part of player points hike

The Goannas, unbeaten through five games, were part of three Riverina League and three Farrer League clubs affected after they were found to be playing with an incorrect points allocation.

The points were reassessed after AFL Riverina reviewed the playing lists. It is understood Trent Castles, Christian Palombi and Sam De Sousa are the MCUE players who have all been allocated an extra point.

Castles, who has kicked 32 goals in four games this year, was contracted to Corowa-Rutherglen last season, but played for the Goannas in the AFL Riverina Championship instead after the Ovens and Murray competition was cancelled.

The full forward has had three transfers over the past three years, but the full forward never played a game for Corowa-Rutherglen.

Canberra-based Palombi and De Sousa formed part of MCUE's recruiting campaign for this season as they search for a first flag since 1993.

Wingman Palombi hails from Queanbeyan and has NEAFL experience with Canberra Demons, while ruckman De Sousa was recruited from Belconnen Magpies.

Palombi and De Sousa's points allocations have increased from two to three, while Castles has increased from three to four.

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Turvey Park's Ted Fellows has also been allocated an extra point to now be a three-point player. But the Bulldogs have been largely unaffected given he is yet to play first grade this season.

It's understood the adjustments apply to only a handful of players, and AFL Riverina president Michael Irons told The Daily Advertiser last week they will keep the faith in the equalisation measure going forward.

"We retain confidence in the Player Points System as an effective competitive balance tool and will continue to review the player assessments and the categories for assessment," Irons said.

Meanwhile, Turvey Park defender Matt Ness will be unavailable for the Bulldogs' trip to Mangoplah on Saturday after he was unable to leave his Melbourne base in time before Victoria began a seven-day COVID lockdown on Thursday.

The club had initially expected Ness to to play, but the NSW government's decision to adjust the deadline from 11.59pm to 4pm ruled out any chance he may of had of crossing the border in time.

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