EAST Warrnambool could impose a club sanction on on-report ruckman Andrea Miar.
Two field umpires reported Miar for abusive language after he copped a head-high tackle in the final quarter of the Bombers’ 10.17 (77) to 3.10 (28) loss to Timboon Demons at Reid Oval.
The Sudanese-born tall will face an independent tribunal this week and could face a stint on the sidelines.
But East coach Paul Butters said the 25-year-old was likely to receive further punishment from his club, which has taken giant strides in rebuilding its on-field imagine.
“He got his head taken off in a contest, didn’t get the free kick, remonstrated with the umpire and got sent off for abusive language,” he said.
“He didn’t get protection but at the same time he went too far. You have to play the game out, you can’t worry about things you can’t control.
“You’ve got to worry about what you can do when you’ve got the footy and let the rest take its path.
“I’m definitely big on the discipline. We’ve improved our training, now these on-field things will not be tolerated anymore.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s your best player or not. If you lose players because of it, the club will go in the right direction.”
Butters said the club sanction could include a suspension, but was something officials would discuss after training tonight.
He said extra punishment on top of what the tribunal could impose was part of East’s new players’ handbook, which the leadership group was involved in developing.
“Playing at other Hampden league clubs, you see the professionalism,” he said. “You’ve got to have a policy in place and I said to (club president) Rich (Jaynes) we need to work on our handbook.
“We’ve set up a very, very good handbook, it’s got goals set up in it, discipline, procedures when things happen.
‘We’ve set up off-field to a tee, basically, really spot-on so we can improve the place.”
East was competitive in the first half but failed to take its opportunities when kicking with a slight breeze against the Demons.
It led at quarter-time, trailed by five points at half-time but kicked 0.4 to 5.14 in the second half to lose by 45 points.
Butters said the performance was “a step in the right direction but also a disappointment”, and rued the Bombers’ inaccuracy.
“We kicked 2.8 to quarter-time,” he said.
“If that had have been 6.4 we could’ve been four or five goals up at quarter-time and it would’ve made a massive difference in the game.”
Teenager Allie Clarke and Jayden Millet were the Bombers’ best players — a bright spot for the club but one which made the report all the more disappointing.
“That’s what I say about discipline, we’ve got a lot of young players in the side and we need to set an example,” Butters said.
“Allie has the ability to go to the next level with his footy, he played a really good game.”
afawkes@standard.fairfax.com.au