KOSCHITZKE DISTRACTION FOR SAINTS
St Kilda faces the prospect of being forced to disrupt its preliminary final plans to ensure forward Justin Koschitzke can play against Hawthorn on Saturday night, reports The Herald Sun. The Saints must challenge at the AFL Tribunal tomorrow night if the match review panel today verifies a rough-conduct charge during the video review of the two semi-finals. Should the panel uphold field umpire Hayden Kennedy's report of Koschitzke for rough conduct against Collingwood's Shane Wakelin, it will rule the Saints big man out of Saturday night's preliminary final unless he can beat the charge at a tribunal hearing. A demerit-points loading from previous suspensions this season and 2007 would condemn Koschitzke to a minimum one-match suspension, even if he pleaded guilty to the charge, which followed a heavy tackle on Wakelin in the second quarter at the MCG on Saturday night.
St Kilda faces the prospect of being forced to disrupt its preliminary final plans to ensure forward Justin Koschitzke can play against Hawthorn on Saturday night, reports The Herald Sun. The Saints must challenge at the AFL Tribunal tomorrow night if the match review panel today verifies a rough-conduct charge during the video review of the two semi-finals. Should the panel uphold field umpire Hayden Kennedy's report of Koschitzke for rough conduct against Collingwood's Shane Wakelin, it will rule the Saints big man out of Saturday night's preliminary final unless he can beat the charge at a tribunal hearing. A demerit-points loading from previous suspensions this season and 2007 would condemn Koschitzke to a minimum one-match suspension, even if he pleaded guilty to the charge, which followed a heavy tackle on Wakelin in the second quarter at the MCG on Saturday night.
BURNS TO DECIDE FUTURE
Collingwood captain Scott Burns will sit down with the club this week to work out his playing future, reports The Herald Sun. The 264-game veteran, who turns 34 in December, is out of contract. It was rumoured Burns' AFL career may have come to an end after he was a late withdrawal from the semi-final against St Kilda on Saturday night.
Collingwood captain Scott Burns will sit down with the club this week to work out his playing future, reports The Herald Sun. The 264-game veteran, who turns 34 in December, is out of contract. It was rumoured Burns' AFL career may have come to an end after he was a late withdrawal from the semi-final against St Kilda on Saturday night.
But Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said yesterday there had been no discussion and everything would be sorted out during the next 10 days. "The fact it just finished last night, nothing has been discussed yet," Walsh said. "Scotty has been on a one-year deal for the past two or three years, so there's nothing to read into at this point." Burns said earlier in the year he was keen to continue for another couple of years, and it is likely another one-year agreement will be reached.
BRITTAIN JOINS LIONS
Michael Voss has added senior coaching experience to the Brisbane Lions' match committee with the signing of former Carlton coach Wayne Brittain, reports The Courier-Mail. Voss met Brittain at the weekend and convinced him to return to the AFL system as an assistant coach. His key responsibility will be Brisbane's midfield. After four years away from a full-time role at AFL level, Brittain said it had not taken much convincing to lure him back. "I'm excited. Just to be involved in a new era at a club with someone like Michael Voss is a great opportunity," he said.
Michael Voss has added senior coaching experience to the Brisbane Lions' match committee with the signing of former Carlton coach Wayne Brittain, reports The Courier-Mail. Voss met Brittain at the weekend and convinced him to return to the AFL system as an assistant coach. His key responsibility will be Brisbane's midfield. After four years away from a full-time role at AFL level, Brittain said it had not taken much convincing to lure him back. "I'm excited. Just to be involved in a new era at a club with someone like Michael Voss is a great opportunity," he said.
HARLEY VIES FOR ALL-AUSTRALIAN CAPTAINCY
When Tom Harley was declared fit to resume from a finger injury in Round 8 last year, he was told he would return via Geelong's VFL team, reports The Herald Sun. The first-year captain was to spend two weeks in the seconds. While he had missed six games, there's a convention of sorts that says captains go straight back into the senior team when they're right. The gossipers pounced, whispering: Is he going to be good enough to play in the Cats' best team? Sixteen months on, Harley is a premiership captain, perhaps a fortnight away from becoming a dual premiership captain, and, as of tonight, maybe captain of an All-Australian team. The veteran defender is vying with Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) and Chris Judd (Carlton) for the leadership role in the Team of the Year. “Any of the three would be totally acceptable, but I would choose Harley,” writes respected chief football writer Mike Sheahan.
When Tom Harley was declared fit to resume from a finger injury in Round 8 last year, he was told he would return via Geelong's VFL team, reports The Herald Sun. The first-year captain was to spend two weeks in the seconds. While he had missed six games, there's a convention of sorts that says captains go straight back into the senior team when they're right. The gossipers pounced, whispering: Is he going to be good enough to play in the Cats' best team? Sixteen months on, Harley is a premiership captain, perhaps a fortnight away from becoming a dual premiership captain, and, as of tonight, maybe captain of an All-Australian team. The veteran defender is vying with Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) and Chris Judd (Carlton) for the leadership role in the Team of the Year. “Any of the three would be totally acceptable, but I would choose Harley,” writes respected chief football writer Mike Sheahan.
AFL DEFENDS NIGHT GAMES
The AFL has defended its decision to hold two preliminary finals under lights this weekend for the first time since 2004, and insists it is not a portent to a night grand final, reports The Age. Either Hawthorn or St Kilda will have 24 hours less recovery and preparation time than its opponents ahead of this year's grand final — a disadvantage that could have been reduced if the league had scheduled Saturday's second preliminary final in the afternoon. Though the fixturing will have physical disadvantages for the side that will play either Geelong or the Western Bulldogs, who play their preliminary final on Friday night, the AFL's chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan said yesterday that the start time for the Saturday game was based on maximising crowds and television audiences. "Very simply it just gives the most amount of people the ability to either go to the game or watch the game," McLachlan said.
WAKELIN RETIRES
The generational change that has engulfed Collingwood in the past year continued yesterday with the retirement of defender Shane Wakelin following the Magpies' loss to St Kilda, reports The Age. Ryan Lonie is also understood to have ended his career after long battles with injury, while captain Scott Burns's future remains unresolved. Burns is keenly sought by a number of clubs as an assistant coach. Brodie Holland is likely to retire, while the future of Ben Johnson, whose fitness was the subject of an attack by president Eddie McGuire about the time of the Heath Shaw-Alan Didak fiasco, remains cloudy. Wakelin's 252-game career ended against St Kilda, the club where the 34-year-old's AFL journey began. Wakelin's retirement is likely to mean Simon Prestigiacomo - who played only one game this season because of serious injury - will play on.
HAWKS LEAD RACE FOR MUNDY
Hawthorn appears set to have a second crack at Fremantle defender David Mundy in next month's trading period to top up its defensive ranks. The Sunday Age understands the Hawks have held at least one meeting with Mundy's management in the past fortnight and are expected to up the ante for his services at season's end. Mundy's manager, Anthony McConville, said this week that the player looks set to return to his home state — and is expected to join outgoing teammate Robert Warnock on the Dockers' departures list. "David is considering his future with the Fremantle footy club and weighing (things) up. Whether he wants to be a part of the club next season or not is up to him," McConville said. "He's been in contact with the Fremantle footy club and he will come to me with a decision next week. I hope that he stays with Fremantle, but at the moment it is up in the air."
AKERMANIS SAYS CATS ARE COCKY
Western Bulldogs midfielder Jason Akermanis has labelled Geelong "cocky" in the lead-up to the Dogs' preliminary final clash against the Cats on Friday night, reports The Sunday Age. And he has criticised the speed of Michael Voss' appointment as Brisbane Lions coach. The outspoken star claims that Cats full-back Matthew Scarlett told him during their round-16 clash at Skilled Stadium that the reigning premier was set for back-to-back flags. "The last time we played Geelong, in the last quarter … he was saying, 'Here we go boys, we're going to win another flag, there's another flag coming our way'," Akermanis told Channel Ten's Before The Game. "I remember thinking at the time, even in the premiership teams I played in, you would never say that, you wouldn't tempt fate." Akermanis said the Bulldogs had learnt a lot from their heavy defeat that day. You've got to have enormous pressure, one-on-one, and they have this rolling zone like Hawthorn," he said. "We were very competitive for a big chunk of the game and I think we'll do some things differently …" Akermanis was also critical of his former club, Brisbane, saying "I didn't think the club was thorough enough" in Voss' appointment.
