GLEESON ENDURES FRESH BAN BLOW

A BOMBSHELL disclosure by AFL Tasmania has revealed Lindisfarne captain Jack Gleeson had already been deregistered as a football player in 2018 as he fights to save his career from another suspension at an SFL appeals hearing on Monday night.

Now facing deregistration for a second time, Gleeson, 29, tipped over the 16-game suspension threshold and earned compulsory deregistration when playing for LeitchvilleGunbower in the Heathcote District Football League in Victoria.

Gleeson was found guilty by the HDFNL tribunal of unbecoming conduct in that he struck North BendiIT go’s Manny Thalasinos in the second semi-final August 2018.

An AFL Tasmania spokesperson said Gleeson was deregistered and sat out 2019.

He applied to be re-registered in 2020 when the former Clarence TSL best-and-fairest onballer returned to Tasmania to play for Lindisfarne.

Now the Two Blues’ skipper, Gleeson again tipped into the red when he was slapped with a threematch suspension from the SFL tribunal on Monday for a tackle that went wrong.

He was booked for a sling tackle on his tagger Matthew Coad in Lindisfarne’s big win over Huonville Lions at Anzac Park last Saturday.

The tribunal gave him a threematch ban.

Lindisfarne appealed the ban on Wednesday night.

It was downgraded to a one-match suspension, still enough to end his career.

Lindisfarne had until the close of business on Friday to lodge an application for Gleeson’s case to go before the appeals committee to have the suspension overturned.

The SFL has received the paperwork.

The appeal will be heard on Monday night.

If the suspension is upheld, Gleeson’s career in permanently finished.