North Launceston trio Brandon Leary, Oscar Van Dam and Lockie Mitchell to miss qualifying final following MRO suspensions

Bombers trio Brandon Leary, Lockie Mitchell and Oscar Van Dam were all offered two week bans by the MRO officer for three separate incidents in round 20, but will miss just one game after taking the early plea.

The Bombers considered the risk too great to contest the charges. It means they will face Clarence in a home qualifying final without the trio, given they have the bye in this Saturday’s final round.

Leary was cited for making high contact with Jack Tomkinson during an altercation in the second quarter, with the forward reported immediately following the incident.

The MRO officer graded the incident as intentional, high and low impact with Tomkinson leaving the ground with a cut above his right eye and returning to the field minutes later.

Mitchell was charged for a high bump on small forward Colin Skeen, also in the second-term, with that graded as intentional, high and low impact given Skeen played out the game.

Skeen was assessed by the Kingborough trainers and medical staff following the bump.

Van Dam has been sidelined for a dangerous tackle on Kieran Lovell in the final quarter with the MRO officer grading it as intentional, high and low impact.

Bombers coach Adrian Smith said the way the charges have been graded and the timing made them too risky and difficult to contest.

He believes they have the depth to cover the bans, with star midfielder Michael Stingel and key defender Mitch Nicholas to return from injury for the qualifying final.

Declen Chugg has played up forward most of the year but had a strong impact as a midfielder against Kingborough, while Beau Nash has also excelled in the engine room at times this season.

“At the end of the day our squad depth is really strong,” he said.

“You back your system and you back what you’ve got. You can’t dwell on the negatives of it all, it’s all about that positive mindset.

“Our system is what it is, the personnel changes but the role doesn’t.

“We have Stingel, Mitch Nicholas, Jacob Kerr ready to return. Our list is still pretty strong.”

Bombers co-captain Fletcher Bennett also backed the club’s depth and player versatility to fill the void.

North Launceston is just the second team to go through the TSL regular season unbeaten, joining Launceston in 2011.

Bennett highlighted the 29 possession game of Declen Chugg against Kingborough, after playing most of the year up forward, as an example of their options.

“He had 29 disposals and was really strong in his contested work,” he said.

“He’s one of a few players in our team who can play multiple positions and that’s only going to be good for our lineup come the first week of finals.

“Were going into finals with a squad mentality. We’ve got roughly 30 blokes who have played senior footy this year, and guys who can fill a void and play a role for the team.

“We’re confident going into that first final gainst Clarence we’ll get the job done with the guys we have available on the park.

“Obviously blokes like them (suspended players) play crucial roles, but it’s almost exciting giving someone else an opportunity who maybe hasn’t played finals footy to stamp their authority on the contest.”

Originally published as North Launceston trio Brandon Leary, Oscar Van Dam and Lockie Mitchell to miss qualifying final following MRO suspensions