WEST Lions might have paid a heavy price for yesterday’s 66-12 Group 4 Cup win over Oxley Diggers at Scully Park.
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The Lions could have lost young centre DJ Smith for the season after he dislocated his right ankle with just a few minutes left in the game.
He was a forlorn figure as he was assisted from the field by Lions trainers and then lay on the massage table in pain.
“It’s a shame for young DJ. He’s been playing very good football,” West coach Shane Rampling said.
“It’s the same ankle he broke a couple of years ago too.”
It followed a game where West winger Zac Nigro was taken by ambulance to Tamworth Base Hospital with a neck injury.
The game was stopped for around half an hour but club officials reported after the game Nigro appeared to be fine but was still having tests at Tamworth Base Hospital.
The club also lost five-eighth Chris Hunt early in the game with a leg injury that could sideline him for a few weeks too although he did say he should be right after a game that started in controversial fashion when young Diggers fullback Kieran Williams was sent off for tripping.
West led 36-6 at the break and just 11 minutes into the second half three players – Richard Kennedy and Tom Flanders from Oxley Diggers and West Lions’ Phil Beaton – were sin-binned for 10 minutes after two incidents.
Beaton burst through a tackle from Diggers centre Richard Kennedy.
He was then crashed to the ground by Diggers lock Zac Hatch but Kennedy made a late rush and charged into Beaton on the ground and after the tackle was affected.
Beaton then failed to play on as he objected to the late flopping tackle and was penalised for not playing the ball.
Diggers kicked it out and Athol Munro took the run up from the tap only for an incensed Beaton to meet him head on with a forceful and high tackle.
Diggers backrower Tom Flanders then rushed in to grab Beaton and a bit of a scuffle eventuated.
From that melee, referee James Brown went back to the original tackle where Kennedy, incensed by copping a forearm when trying to tackle Beaton originally, made his ill-mannered attack from behind.
The referees then offloaded Kennedy, Beaton and a lucky Flanders for 10 minutes in the bin.
Two minutes later and Diggers centre Will Saunders was sinbinned for an offence in a tackle to leave the team with nine men.
They got back to 12 but were back to 10 when first Micah Scarth was sin-binned for 10 minutes and then Richard Kennedy was sent off for the rest of the game after they disagreed with a try ruling for Dylan Lake.
Even the Diggers trainer, Abby Schmiedel, who scored three tries in Oxley Diggers’ 66-nil Ladies League Tag win, was ordered off by the referee .