Prospect Hawks unhappy with TSL appeal outcome

Lauderdale’s Nick Grubb received the four-match ban from the TSL tribunal for striking Prospect’s Caleb Bushing in their Development League game at Prospect.

The incident left the 17-year-old with two fractures to his eye socket and one to his cheekbone.

Grubb was not reported during the game but was cited after the Hawks lodged a complaint post-match and was later penalised at a tribunal hearing.

Bushing, a Launceston College student, will be sidelined for six to eight weeks with his injuries and may not play again this season but Grubb had his penalty overturned at an appeal hearing and is free to play for Lauderdale this week.

“We can’t understand or work out how you could be found guilty by the tribunal of striking and given four weeks and then have it overturned and get off with no penalty on appeal,” Prospect Hawks president Victor Marshall said.

“I don’t think we have any other avenues available to us because we don’t believe we can lodge an appeal once it has been to the appeals board.”

Marshall said the club would not be willing to travel to Lauderdale or play them again this season from a duty of care point of view.

“Our kids were nearly going to pull the pin on the DL for the rest of the year because the incident frightened a few of them but we had a meeting with them and they are going to keep going at the moment.”

Bushing’s mother Vanessa said as a parent she worried about what could happen in the future.

“What if it is another kid is hit next time with not as lucky an outcome?” she said. “That’s my main concern …

“We have a lot of young players in our team and small players and if one of them had been hit, who knows what could have happened?”

She said they were unsure whether they could report the incident to the police after the player concerned was found not guilty.