A local football powerhouse coached by former Collingwood great Mick McGuane is “devastated” after being stripped of the 2023 premiership for breaching the competition’s player payment rules.
The Keilor Football Club was undefeated in the season and had an average winning margin of more than 50 points. The Essendon District Football League found the club had breached the rules in 2022 and 2023, although the league said the breaches were not “dishonest or wilful”.
Mick McGuane has been a brilliant coach at local level after being a premiership player at Collingwood.Credit: Getty
The club exceeded its allowable player payment limit of $110,000 by $45,100 in 2023. It was found to be $605 above the limit in 2022.
In a statement Keilor club president Shaun Morris said: “we acknowledge the administrative error in timing of payments that led to this situation and breach”, but defended the merit of the club’s performance in 2023. He said the club was “well under” the salary cap for 2024.
“We want to be clear, that despite this outcome, we do not believe we benefited in any way above the competition and all other competing clubs,” Morris said.
“While these sanctions are a setback, they will not define us. We remain committed to competing on the field with respect for the rules and guidelines of our competitions.”
The Essendon District Football League released a statement on Tuesday night announcing the sanctions from the player payments disciplinary hearing, which included Keilor’s loss of the 2023 premiership.
Keilor’s player payments limit was also reduced by 15 per cent for the next three seasons and they were fined $50,000. The league suspended $20,000 of the fine if the club complies with the rules for the next three seasons.
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