PREMIERSHIP COMES AT HEFTY COST FOR COACH THORP

PREMIERSHIP coach Mitch Thorp will have a delayed start to his 2021 TSL campaign following the fallout of the heated grand final against North Launceston on Saturday.

The Blues usurped their cross- town rivals as State League kings with a 13- point victory at UTAS Stadium, handing Thorp his second flag as coach after he guided South Launceston to success in 2013.

However he will spend the first three matches of the club’s premiership defence next year relegated to coaching duties only after being slapped with a hefty suspension.

The key forward, who failed to register a possession in the grand final, was reported for striking Bombers ruckman Alex Lee.

The match review panel graded the incident as intentional, medium impact and high contact, drawing a base sanction of three matches.

However in line with rule 5.5 of the National, State and

Territory Tribunal Guidelines, the MRP applied a 50 per cent grand final loading to Thorp’s charge, increasing the base sanction to four matches.

Thorp took an early guilty plea, reducing his penalty to three matches.

He also accepted a low level reprimand for instigating the melee which erupted at quarter- time, which came with a base sanction of a one match ban.

Blues defender Jamieson House will miss round one next year after also being found guilty of striking.

House was reported for striking Bart McCulloch, which the MRP graded as intentional, with low impact and high contact. It drew a base sanction of two matches, reduced to one with an early guilty plea, which was accepted.

North Launceston’s Tom Donnelly is yet to accept an early plea for his charge of striking Alec Wright. A guilty plea would reduce Donnelly’s penalty to a reprimand.