By James Bresnehan - Mercury
TASMANIAN Devil Brett Geappen will miss the first round of VFL finals if club officials can't find grounds to appeal against his three-match suspension in Melbourne last night for an incident against Bendigo on Sunday.
Geappen, 24, who was cited on video, will miss tomorrow night's clash with Coburg at Aurora Stadium, the final roster match against Williamstown in Melbourne next weekend, and the elimination finals a week later.
Geappen was charged with rough conduct against Bendigo Bomber Sam Richardson.
It was alleged the Tasmanian dropped his knees into Richardson while he was on the ground during the all-in stoush at three quarter-time.
The Devils have until noon today to appeal, if they can justify the $5000 bill.
It was the second time Geappen fronted the tribunal this season, having been suspended for a week for charging in the win over Frankston in round 11.
Devils coach Mathew Armstrong said Geappen would be a significant loss.
"He's been very important to the team, so we're going to miss him in defence," Armstrong said.
Meanwhile, two Devils face fitness tests today.
Big-man Markham Johnson is in doubt with a strained adductor muscle and midfield workhorse Ben Setchell has a bruised arm.
"They both should be right to play, but they will be tested to make sure," Armstrong said.
"I don't want to go into the game with blokes who aren't fit, given the short turnaround."
Despite seven straight wins, Armstrong is far from happy with the Devils' form.
"All of the team's key performance indicators are down on what they should be," he said.
"And over the past two or three weeks they've been getting worse rather than improving."
Second-last on the ladder, the Coburg Tigers could still bite the Devils.
"This is the first time we've played them this season," Armstrong said.
"It's a real danger game for us.
"We need to start putting four good solid quarters together, and that's something we'll be trying to do this week.
"We need to address our drop-off and start getting better."
The game starts at 6.30pm.
Last Modified on 11/08/2005 17:25