NPL: NNSW Football clear player and club over registration breach

A Northern NSW Football spokesperson said on Thursday that Harmon had been issued with a show cause notice for wrongly being dual registered, but later said he had not been suspended "because there was no malice or intent in his failure to deregister [from Valentine] correctly".

Harmon was found to have registered with interdistrict club Tenambit Sharks while still registered with Valentine.

The interdistrict member zones, who administer community-level football, discovered the breach and reversed the results of four matches Harmon played in for Tenambit, making them 3-0 defeats. However, those points were reinstated on Thursday and Tenambit were placed on a suspended bond.

News of the breach had led to speculation in NPL circles of changes to the premier competition's points tables. First grade features four teams within two points of each other in the race for the premiership and a tight battle for the other finals spot. Charlestown lead on 41 points, with Maitland, Lambton Jaffas (40) and Broadmeadow (39) in reach. Weston (36) and Edgeworth (34) are next.

However, NNSWF said no breach was committed by Valentine, and therefore no points would be changed, because Harmon did not feature for Phoenix after registering with Tenambit.

Harmon was part of Valentine's first-grade match day squads across the opening four rounds, then again in round eight on April 22.

He was later on Squadi reserve grade teamsheets, the last being May 13, before leaving the club. NNSWF said Harmon registered with Tenambit's Friday night all-age A-division competition side on May 24.

"While it is clear Harmon breached the National Registration Regulations and was actively registered with two clubs simultaneously, NNSWF is satisfied he did not do so with any malice or intent to gain benefit," NNSWF said in a statement.

Valentine are out of the first-grade finals race in ninth place on 22 points, 14 behind fifth-placed Weston, but they have taken points off many teams above them this season.

Harmon was a figure in the Ryan Clarke ring-in saga of 2015-16.

He was thrust into the spotlight when friend Clarke, then with Maitland, was banned for 12 months in late 2015 after being found guilty of playing as a ring-in for Adamstown juniors in an interdistrict H-grade all-age semi-final. That ban was cut on appeal to four games.

Harmon had claimed he was the illegal player, not Clarke.

An eight-month suspension from NNSWF was then given to Clarke for breaching the code of conduct with "misleading" public statements. Clarke successfully appealed that sanction to Football Federation Australia.