LAST month it was departing coaches taking the limelight – this month it was new ones.

 

Nathan Buckley spurned North Melbourne, then signed up with Collingwood as Mick Malthouse's eventual successor, while the AFLPA called for a salary cap on off-field spending. Mark Williams signed a new deal with Port Adelaide, while Jade Rawlings and Peter Sumich put their hands up for the Richmond gig.

 

Jim Stynes was diagnosed with cancer, but was still watching his Dees from bed, and then going to training.

 

Two champions left - Adam Simpson hung up his boots because the fire had gone  - after saying earlier in the month he was fired up to go on – while Barry Hall did likewise, but because it all burned too brightly at times. Paul Roos says the club won't be chasing a marquee replacement, while players at the Dogs expressed an interest in having Hall as a teammate.

 

At the other end of the career spectrum, Karmichael Hunt – already a star in rugby league – is giving the AFL a shot, taken by the Gold Coast, which has added Malcolm Blight as a board member and might just like to add Kurt Tippett to their list. And the Gold Coast is where the AFL Draft could be heading next year, along with a move to prime-time TV.

 

Nick Stevens was dropped for being chubby, while Luke Ball was dropped for not doing the right things.

 

The AFL was still waiting on a better Docklands deal and flagged experiments with the draw next year, with Daniel Jackson hoping one of them would be another week off in-season, Adrian Anderson defended the match review panel, while Boomer Harvey hoped we wouldn't see extra-time added to eradicate draws.

 

Choco said finals were still in sight, but a loss to the Dees didn't help that idea. Fev kicked a personal best nine goals, while Fremantle managed just one for the game for the whole team.

 

Brad Ottens went backwards but finally came good, Daniel Wells suffered a freak accident, the Cats lost a stack of players, leading to a loss against the Lions, which was still no mean feat according to Michael Voss.

 

Inconsistent Tiger Brett Deledio and Rawlings both wanted Ben Cousins to stay at the club, Cyril Rioli re-signed with the Hawks, Fremantle played its 10th debutant for the year, Alan Didak decided to put footy first, and Bomber Thompson told his side to sharpen up.