GSFL tribunal hand Royals’ Brent Johnson two-week suspension after finding him guilty of striking opponent

Royals midfielder Brent Johnson will miss the next two matches after failing to overturn his striking suspension at the Great Southern Football League tribunal on Tuesday night. Johnson was red carded and reported for striking Logan Stubber during a fiery clash between crosstown rivals the Lions and Railways in round eight at Tigerland on Saturday. The incident occurred late in the first quarter and Stubber was yellow-carded for rough conduct, with the Tigers going on to win the clash by 29 points. After the game Johnson was offered a penalty of two weeks, under the GSFL set penalty guidelines, but the Lions decided to challenge the ban at the tribunal. Reporting umpire Daniel Till along with Johnson and Stubber gave evidence at the hearing. Johnson was found guilty of the strike to the face by the tribunal and it upheld the original two-week ban. Lions coach Andrew Ruck confirmed they would not appeal the verdict. “It is disappointing for the club, the outcome,” Ruck said. “We are disappointed considering Brent was remorseful and had a clean record. “Considering it was such a physical contest, it was frustrating that one player received a yellow and one a red card, leaving us down a player for 15 minutes.” Johnson will miss the Lions’ next two matches against North Albany and Denmark-Walpole. Meanwhile the Lions are hopeful of regaining Mackenzie Batten, Sam Holmes and Chandler Askevold-McDonald for their round nine clash with North Albany on Saturday. The trio didn’t feature in the loss to the Tigers and would be vital inclusions given they will be without key midfielder Zak Mola. Mola has a small fracture in his foot after landing on another player’s boot last week. Ruck said he was likely to spend at least a couple of weeks on the sidelines and utility Hayden Johnson also has a broken foot sustained in last Saturday’s game. Kleemann medallist Cameron Allison (hamstring) won’t play against the Kangas and will instead return after the general bye for the Nutrien Country Football Championships and the Lions are also likely to give captain Brayden Parker (hamstring) another week off. The fourth-placed Lions host the fifth-placed Kangas at Retravision Stadium and a win to the home side will end the Kangas’ slim finals hopes. In the other round nine fixtures Mt Barker and Albany face off at Sounness Park on Saturday while Denmark-Walpole travel to Tigerland to tackle the Tigers on Sunday.