Border Mail | THE Ovens and Murray Football and Netball League has brought forward its next board meeting to partly deal with mounting anger about interleague players boozing on the eve of the recent clash against Peninsula.
League chairman Graeme Patterson confirmed the ill-fated representative campaign would be on the agenda at the rescheduled meeting tonight.
The O and M is under pressure to take action about what happened after a pre-match dinner at the league’s major sponsor, the SS&A Club, the night before the game.
Patterson said there had been no pre-match curfew for coach Brendan Fevola and players put in place, but he hoped they were responsible enough to ensure they were in the right condition to perform the following day.
“The preparation wasn’t as good as it should have been,” Patterson said.
“We were disappointed with Brendan being out at the time he was.
“I don’t walk away from that and it was disappointing that didn’t appear to be the case.
“What action we take will be a full board discussion.”
Fevola has admitted drinking the night before the game.
He was captured by CCTV footage in Dean Street at 2.34am on the morning of the match.
Lavington player Adam Prior has also been linked to a late night.
Rumours of players drinking during a golf afternoon have also started to surface since the defeat which has cost the O and M a shot at the No. 1 title next year.
Patterson said general manager Aaron McGlynn had been gathering information about what happened on the night before the game, which would be tabled at the meeting tonight.
The SS&A Club is understood to be upset at the behaviour of players at the club, but club chief executive Tim Levesque declined to comment.
It is the long-term major sponsor of the league.
Patterson said the league was taking the interleague fallout seriously.
“There was a level of trust people would make the appropriate preparations,” he said.
“Players, coaches and others have got to take responsibility for their actions.”
Fevola’s appointment as O and M coach went against the major recommendation of a review panel set up in the wake of the previous loss to Peninsula two years ago.
The panel, which included league greats Robbie Walker, Paul Spargo and Jon Henry, suggested future O and M coaches not have an involvement at club level.
Patterson said the other major agenda item tonight was the pending introduction of a player points system and salary cap next season.
