Round 21
Friday August 10
Essendon v St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, 7.50pm

Saturday August 11
Hawthorn v Geelong Cats at the MCG, 1.45pm
Gold Coast Suns v Richmond at Metricon Stadium, 2.10pm
Port Adelaide v West Coast at the Adelaide Oval, 4.05pm
Collingwood v Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium, 7.25pm
GWS Giants v Adelaide Crows at UNSW Stadium Canberra, 7.25pm

Sunday August 12
North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium, 1.10pm
Melbourne v Sydney Swans at the MCG, 3.20pm
Fremantle v Carlton at Optus Stadium, 2.40pm


2 UPCOMING MILESTONES

350 games umpired – Matt Stevic
300 games umpired – Shaun Ryan

Oldest to reach 250 games – Dale Morris, Western Bulldogs. Dale is due to play his 250th game this round at the age of 35 years, 226 days. This will make him the oldest person in VFL/AFL history at the point of the milestone to reach 250 games. The previous oldest players are Vic Thorp (34 years, 217 days, Richmond, 1925), Tony Liberatore (34y, 182d, Western Bulldogs, 2000), James Hird (34y, 151d, Essendon, 2007), Aaron Sandilands (34y, 144d, Fremantle, 2017), Don McKenzie (34y, 127d, Essendon, 1973).

Most Club Games – Shannon Hurn, West Coast. Shannon is due to play his 243rd game this week, drawing him level with Dean Kemp in eighth spot in club history. The most games for West Coast since it entered the competition are Dean Cox (290 games, 2001-14), Glen Jakovich (276 games, 1991-2004), Darren Glass (270 games, 2000-14), Guy McKenna (267 games, 1988-2000), Drew Banfield (265 games, 1993-2006), Peter Matera (253 games, 1990-2002), Andrew Embley (250 games, 1999-2013), Dean Kemp (243 games, 1990-2001), Shannon Hurn (242 games, 2006 - current), Ashley McIntosh (242 games, 1991-2003).

200 games – David Mackay, Adelaide Crows
100 games – Seb Ross, St Kilda
100 club games – Elliot Yeo, West Coast
50 games – Eric Hipwood, Brisbane Lions
50 games – Peter Wright, Gold Coast Suns
50 games – Sam Menegola, Geelong Cats
50 games – Fletcher Roberts, Western Bulldogs

Most combined father/son games – Kennedy family. Josh Kennedy is due to play his 224th league game this week after father John played 241 games for Hawthorn. They will draw level with the Whitten family (Ted senior / Ted junior) in ninth spot in VFL/AFL history. The most games by a father/son pair are Fletcher (664 games comprising 264 games for Ken and 400 games for Dustin), Tuck (599 games comprising 426 games for Michael and 173 games for Shane), Cloke (589 games comprising 333 games for David and 256 games for Travis), Ablett (565 games comprising 248 games for Gary senior and 317 games for Gary junior), Silvagni (551 games comprising 239 games for Sergio and 312 games for Stephen), Watson (527 games comprising 307 games for Tim and 220 games for Jobe), Scarlett (496 games comprising 212 games for John and 284 games for Matthew), Murphy (492 games comprising 246 games for John and 246 games for Marc), Whitten (465 games comprising 321 games for Ted snr and 144 games for Ted jnr), Kennedy (464 games comprising 241 games for John junior and 223 games for Josh).

Most Career Goals – Lance Franklin, Sydney Swans. Lance needs five goals to catch Leigh Matthews in eighth spot for most goals in VFL/AFL history. The most career goals in history: Tony Lockett (1360 goals for St Kilda and the Sydney Swans), Gordon Coventry (1299 goals for Collingwood), Jason Dunstall (1254 goals for Hawthorn), Doug Wade (1057 goals for Geelong and North Melbourne), Gary Ablett senior (1030 goals for Hawthorn and Geelong), Jack Titus (970 goals for Richmond), Matthew Lloyd (926 goals for Essendon), Leigh Matthews (915 goals for Hawthorn), Lance Franklin (910 goals for Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans), Peter McKenna (874 goals for Collingwood and Carlton).


3 TRIBUNAL MATCH REVIEW PROCESS

The expected process for the 2018 AFL Season under the AFL Match Review system is that the AFL will issue a media release late on the Monday after each round detailing the penalties to be offered to players for incidents from that round of matches, or the reasons why no further action was to be taken. Match Review Officer Michael Christian will also be made available at a general media call at a time to be determined.

The clubs and players then have until 11am on the Tuesday morning to decide whether to accept the penalty on offer, or whether they wish to contest the charge at a Tribunal hearing, to usually be held on the Tuesday night. The AFL will formally detail all instances on the Tuesday of whether cases will proceed to the Tribunal or not.

There were no players reported from the weekend’s matches.


4 TRIBUNAL HEARING LOCATION

The AFL Tribunal is held in the AFL media room on Level LB2 at Etihad Stadium. The AFL wishes to advise that all media covering the Tribunal hearings at Etihad Stadium need to park in the B2 car park (entry off the Bourke St extension) and report to the Etihad Stadium security office to gain admittance via the internal ring road. There will be no access via AFL House to any AFL Tribunal hearing through the season, as our offices will have closed by 6pm each day.


5 CURRENTLY SUSPENDED PLAYERS

The AFL wishes to advise the players that have completed and currently serving MRP suspensions across the competition are as follows:

Currently Suspended:
Daniel Howe, Hawthorn. Three matches to serve. Five matches from round 18.
Zak Jones, Sydney Swans. One match to serve. Two matches from round 19.

Completed:
Ryan Nyhuis, Fremantle. Three matches from round 17.
Tom Cutler, Brisbane Lions. Two matches from round 18.
Steven May, Gold Coast Suns. One match from round 19.
Kyle Cheney, Adelaide Crows. One-match from round 19.


6 BOOK LAUNCH – Wednesday August 8

Slattery Publishing will release a new book this week, The Norm Smith Medal - The players who delivered on AFL/VFL football’s grandest stage.
Written by Dan Eddy, the book details the story of each winner since the award was instituted in 1979, and will be launched by David Parkin.
Norm Smith Medallists Gary Ayres (1986, 1988) and Simon Madden (1985) will be in attendance and all media are welcome to attend:
Wednesday, August 8
11am
MCC Library
For review copies, interviews or further information contact Eloise Hudson - eloise@mediachampions.com.au or 0417 437 967.


7 SINGLE DAY MEDIA ACCREDITATION PASSES – HOME AND AWAY SEASON

For any media outlets seeking one-off day passes for staff for particular games during the home and away season, please be reminded that requests need to be lodged by the preceding Wednesday 5pm before that weekend of matches. For any new staffers not previously on file, the detail required for a pass is jpeg head shot / mobile number / email address / birth date / mailing address.


8 NATIONAL SPORTS MUSEUM AT THE MCG

The National Sports Museum is located inside Gate 3 at the MCG, as a must-visit for sports fans of all ages. It is open daily 10am – 5pm. On AFL event days:
All ticketholder’s receive 50% off the price of admission to the National Sports Museum during event mode (from gates open until the match starts).
Kids are admitted FREE to the National Sports Museum for all AFL Sunday Funday games during event mode in 2018
Visit mcg.org.au/nsm for details.


9 2018 NAB AFL DRAFT – TRADED FUTURE SELECTIONS

As a reminder to all media, the following selections at this year’s 2018 NAB AFL Draft were traded during last year’s trade period.

Round One
Adelaide Crows, Received from Melbourne.
Gold Coast Suns, Received from West Coast.

Round Two
Adelaide Crows, Received from Carlton.
Carlton, Received from Adelaide Crows.
Carlton, Received from the Western Bulldogs.
Essendon, Received from GWS Giants.
Gold Coast Suns, Received from Essendon.
Gold Coast Suns, Received from the Geelong Cats.
GWS Giants, Received from Fremantle.
Port Adelaide, Received from St Kilda.
Sydney Swans, Received from Collingwood.
West Coast, Received from the Gold Coast Suns.

Round Three
Adelaide Crows, Received from Carlton.
Collingwood, Received from the Sydney Swans.
Geelong Cats, Received from Richmond.
Gold Coast Suns, Received from Fremantle.
GWS Giants, Received from Essendon.
Melbourne, Received from the Adelaide Crows.
North Melbourne, Received from St Kilda, via on-trades.
North Melbourne, Received from West Coast, via on-trades.
Port Adelaide, Received from North Melbourne.

Round Four
Adelaide Crows, Received from Melbourne.
Carlton, Received from Geelong Cats.
Geelong Cats, Received from Carlton.
Geelong Cats, Received from Gold Coast Suns.
St Kilda, Received from the Adelaide Crows, via on-trades.
St Kilda, Received from Port Adelaide.
West Coast, Received from Hawthorn, via on-trades.
Western Bulldogs, Received from Fremantle.