WELCOME, Adelaide, to the 21st century.
Confirmation that all South Australian AFL matches are set to move from AAMI Stadium to a redeveloped, 50,000-seat Adelaide Oval from 2014 is a massive boost for football in the City of Churches.
Let's face it, AAMI Stadium, or Footy Park as it used to be known, may have a great playing surface, but, like Victoria's defunct Waverley Park, it was concrete, cold and too far from the city.
Adelaide Oval, on the other hand, oozes character and charm, and is a Malcolm Blight torpedo from the city centre.
Understandably, Wednesday's announcement that the South Australian government, SA Football Commission, SANFL and SACA had agreed the Adelaide Oval would soon co-host cricket and football was big news in The Advertiser and The Australian.
There is a potential problem, however.
Under the agreement, drop-in wickets will now be used at the Adelaide Oval and that, along with some of the cosmetic changes planned for the ground, has attracted some vocal and locally high-profile opponents.
More concerning, though, is the fact 75 per cent of SACA members have to approve the proposal before Adelaide Oval can be confirmed as SA footy's new home.
The consequences of a no vote were best summed up by SACA president Ian McLachlan, who said: "There is really no alternative … but to have a dual-purpose stadium at a location in the city if Adelaide is to stay relevant in the sporting world."
SACA members will vote in May.
Ageing Cats want to be put on pension
While a growing number of football followers are lining up to pension off Geelong's battle-torn veterans, it's perhaps not surprising Cats players are leading the push for a new player pension fund.
A group of Geelong players including Cameron Ling, Matthew Scarlett and Joel Selwood stumbled on the idea during a casual chat and then took it to the AFL Players' Association, the Herald Sun reports.
The pension fund proposal, which would be funded from the increased player payments the AFLPA is currently seeking in negotiations for the 2012-16 collective bargaining agreement, was revealed in The Advertiser on Tuesday.
Interestingly, the News Ltd papers differ on just how much of a player pay hike the AFLPA is after.
The Advertiser reported it was seeking 25 per cent of the AFL's real - as opposed to budgeted - revenue over that five-year period, while the Herald Sun said it was after 27 per cent.
Either way, it seems the players will not go hungry in retirement.
The Nixon impasse
As David Galbally QC's investigation of Ricky Nixon continues, clubs trying to keep Nixon clients away from the clutches of GWS are getting restless.
The Age reports the clubs frustrated by their inability to finalise deals while Nixon remains overseas include St Kilda, with Sam Gilbert, and the Western Bulldogs, with two "key" players.
The mere knowledge GWS is lurking in the background armed with one-in-a-lifetime contracts is enough to make clubs nervous; they don't need any other obstacles standing between them and hanging onto their stars.
The Age also revealed the girl at the centre of the scandal is negotiating to do an interview with 60 Minutes.
We can't see any winners if that goes ahead.
Footy viewers the Biggest Losers
What will Friday night football play second fiddle to next?
A revamped series of Ben Elton's Live From Planet Earth?
Re-runs of the first series of Neighbours?
We pose that question after the Herald Sun's report that Channel 10 will telecast Friday night's Essendon-St Kilda NAB Cup semi-final on a one-hour delay, after its fat-fighting reality show, The Biggest Loser Families.
Yes, it's the NAB Cup and, yes, footy fans have become conditioned to delays by Friday night football's usual broadcaster Channel Seven and its unswerving devotion to Better Homes and Gardens.
But how much more do we have to take? Seriously.
In short
Remarkable to learn in the Herald Sun that Tiger spearhead Jack Riewoldt's accuracy in front of goal improved after he did private goalkicking practice sessions last year. Take note, club fitness coaches.
How did Collingwood assistant coach Mark Neeld keep a straight face at a Wednesday press conference when he said: "We see the travel to Perth (for Saturday night's NAB Cup semi-final against West Coast) as a warm-up for our travels during the year". C'mon Mark, you only leave Victoria four times this home and away season, and only venture to Perth once.
Hawthorn has transformed its leadership program adopting "the Lethal System", in which players are divided in the 1960s (younger players), 1970s (developing players), 1980s (core group, including leaders) and 1990s (senior players no longer in the running for the captaincy), The Age reports. The program is based on the values and leadership qualities epitomised by club great "Lethal" Leigh Matthews.
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna has called on the AFL to schedule the first intra-state Queensland clash for next weekend's round of the NAB Challenge, pitting the Suns against the Brisbane Lions, the Courier Mail reports.
The NRL held its season launch in south-west Sydney on Wednesday, in a move the Daily Telegraph said "looked suspiciously like a code spooked by the invasion from the south (the AFL)".
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The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
