The club lodged the appeal after Bradbery copped the ban for match official abuse by Northern NSW Football following his straight red card in the final-round win over Olympic which sealed their NPL premiership.

Bradbery's finals campaign was wiped out after he was given a three-game sanction on top of his automatic one-match ban for the send-off.

The set penalty covers "unsporting conduct" and "using offensive language and/or gestures". An additional game suspension came because it was his second red card of the year. The other was a second yellow, against Broadmeadow in round five, for dissent against the same referee. Bradbery has denied he swore at the referee before the most recent red.

While clubs have had success overturning red cards at the Obvious Error Panel in recent years, the Bradbery case appears the first attempt at a traditional appeal this season.

Clubs can appeal disciplinary sanctions imposed by the competition administrator, but the action carries a fee of $1000. It is believed Jaffas have sought witness accounts for the challenge, which comes as they prepare for a grand final qualifier against Broadmeadow on Saturday at Edden Oval.

Coach John Bennis reckons Broadmeadow's State Cup win over Edgeworth last month could be the catalyst for their run at the NPL championship.

Magic fell a point short of the premiership this year and last season but shape as genuine contenders for the grand final trophy after a 4-2 win over Azzurri on Sunday.

The young Broadmeadow attack has lit up the competition with a league-best 61 goals, and Bennis, who will step aside at season's end, said the "belief is there" in his squad.

"To have a young group, they have to believe in the process, and they are," Bennis said.

"I feel that State Cup win builds belief. All of a sudden a trophy is on offer and we've won one, so I feel like this group, they are young and they've got so many years of good football left in them. It's sad for me to part ways, but that's life. But this core group should be able to enjoy some success.

"I feel like they are building but it is a young group, so we have to manage our behaviour and control our emotions. We are learning game by game, but the boys are executing, so it's great to see."

Bennis praised his players' "football IQ" but also their temperament after conceding a penalty on Sunday and having at least two good shouts for one of their own turned down.

"It's a credit to the boys to face that, roll up the sleeves and get on with the job," he said.

The only player missing on Sunday was captain Jeremy Wilson, who continues to struggle with an ankle injury.

"He's a day-by-day proposition," Bennis said. "That bone bruising is a hard one. To manage the pain part of it, that's the issue. We'll just keep monitoring him."

Maitland coach Michael Bolch was not using a groin injury to star striker Braedyn Crowley as an excuse for his side's 2-0 loss to Weston on Saturday in the elimination final.

Crowley, the league's top scorer with 28 goals for the second straight year, struggled throughout and was taken off in the 74^th minute with the Bears up via goals from Joey O'Connor (58th) and Connor Evans (68th).

"We needed to step up in other areas, and they were just better than us," Bolch said of Crowley's injury.

The loss ended a roller-coaster premiership defence for the Magpies, who had nine points from nine rounds before winning 10 games in a row to sit second. They slid to fourth on 40 points before the early finals exit.

Bolch said his side were flat late in the campaign and he will give them a longer off-season break.

"We were up for a long time, winning those 10 games straight, we were under a lot of pressure after the poor start," he said.

"We'll do some recruiting and refine a couple of things. We just need to build a bit on what we've got and have a bigger squad. We probably just lacked what Magic and Jaffas have, that bit of depth."

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