DARREN MONCRIEFF
Monday 9 January 2012
TRIPLE AFL premiership player Darryl White's hopes of overturning a life ban from football hinge on a precedent set in 2009 at a meeting scheduled to take place in Darwin this week.
White (pictured), 38, playing for NTFL Premier League side, St Mary's, was suspended for one match for striking Tiwi Bomber Donald Mungatopi in their round 11 match in December.
The ban took his NT football suspensions to 16, which is one more than the 15-game maximum allowed under an AFLNT deregistration policy for players.
The ruling states that on the 16th suspension, players, and officials, will be deregistered for life. It's a rule that was first enforced across Australia in 2007, and which was adopted by AFLNT in October 2008.
More than half of White's 16 suspensions -- 11 -- were for bad language.
White's predicament caused outrage across the football fraternity with former and curent AFL players joining the chorus to have the ban overturned.
Saints officials will use a case three years ago in their appeal to have the ruling reversed.
Former Collingwood and Fremantle forward Brodie Holland was deregistered after exceeding the 15-game limit for Victorian club, Maribyrnong Park, in 2009 and his appeal to the board of AFL Victoria was upheld.
White's former Brisbane Lions team-mate Jared Brennan described the ban as "an insult to one of the best players to come out of the NT, no offence to AFLNT but that's ridiculous".
An AFLNT Hall of Famer and a member of the AFL Indigenous Team of the Century, White played 268 games with Brisbane, including the 2001, 2002 and 2003 premierships, and the losing 2004 grand final.
His on-field AFL record speaks for itself in a career that began in 1992.
* Indigenous Team of the Century at fullback 2005
* Captain Indigenous All-Stars 2005
* Allies State of origin representative 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
* Qld/NT State of Origin representative 1993
* AFL Goal of the Year 1992
* Bears best first-year player 1992
* NT and All-Australian Under-17 representative 1990
White transferred to St Mary's earlier this Top End season (2011/12) after a post-AFL career with Darwin Buffaloes, in which he won a premiership, and Brisbane club, Mt Gravatt.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 09/01/2012 14:01