EAGLES WANT TOP 10 PICKS FOR KERR
West Coast yesterday put star midfielder Daniel Kerr on the market, but he comes at a substantial price as the Eagles are determined to play hardball over his future, reports The Australia. Kerr is contracted to the Eagles until the end of next year, but the club's demands for releasing the 25-year-old early include two top-10 picks in the national draft. A club source revealed yesterday that any trade would require one pick under No4 in the draft and another selection before pick No10 as a starting point for a deal. West Coast, with just four wins this season and sitting 15th with one round to play, appears certain to have the second pick in the November draft, behind likely wooden-spooner Melbourne. In a move aimed at being proactive in the marketplace after being burned when it lost Chris Judd last season to Carlton for below market value, West Coast has suspended talks with Kerr's management until after the October player-exchange period.
AFL DRAGGED BEFORE SENATE OVER TASSIE
AFL bosses will be called before a Senate inquiry to explain why footy-mad Tasmania has been denied a league team of its own, reports The Herald Sun. The AFL commissioners have prioritised the admission of Gold Coast and western Sydney teams over Tasmania. The Senate will today back a bid by Tasmanian Labor senator Kerry O'Brien for a committee inquiry into the AFL's decision. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou is expected to be among those called to give evidence before the Senate committee. "This will keep the pressure on the AFL to give Tasmania a fair shake," O'Brien said last night. "It's about revealing to the public the whole rationale for the AFL's decisions and exposing the strength of Tasmania's case and the best way possible in an environment where people can say what they want to say under parliamentary privilege." The AFL was last night standing by its decision to make the granting of licences to Gold Coast and western Sydney a priority. "The AFL has decided the 17th and 18th teams will be from western Sydney and the Gold Coast," spokesman Patrick Keane said. "Beyond that we've not made any decision on the creation of any new teams in any particular areas." Eight-one per cent of respondents to the Herald Sun's Footy Fans Survey last month favoured Tasmania over Queensland and New South Wales as the home of a new team.
EAGLES OF 2006 BETTER THAN CATS
His Eagles side of 2008 may have no chance of beating Geelong this weekend, but West Coast coach John Worsfold says he would back his premiership team of 2006 against the current Cats juggernaut, reports The Age. Even the ever-focused Worsfold could afford a wry smile when asked whether his team could beat Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday - not surprising given the 135-point humiliation by the Cats at Subiaco in round 13. But Worsfold sparked an interesting debate by saying he believed the Eagles of 2006, including the likes of Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Daniel Chick and Daniel Kerr, would have given the reigning premiers a classic contest. “We can (win this weekend) - but it would be a big win if we could do it. All we can guarantee is that we will give it everything, not just count the minutes in the game until the end of the season," Worsfold said. "The expectation is probably not that we are a great chance to win but that anything could happen. We do not have our 2006 premiership side out there running around the weekend - if that was the case, I would back us in."
West Coast yesterday put star midfielder Daniel Kerr on the market, but he comes at a substantial price as the Eagles are determined to play hardball over his future, reports The Australia. Kerr is contracted to the Eagles until the end of next year, but the club's demands for releasing the 25-year-old early include two top-10 picks in the national draft. A club source revealed yesterday that any trade would require one pick under No4 in the draft and another selection before pick No10 as a starting point for a deal. West Coast, with just four wins this season and sitting 15th with one round to play, appears certain to have the second pick in the November draft, behind likely wooden-spooner Melbourne. In a move aimed at being proactive in the marketplace after being burned when it lost Chris Judd last season to Carlton for below market value, West Coast has suspended talks with Kerr's management until after the October player-exchange period.
AFL DRAGGED BEFORE SENATE OVER TASSIE
AFL bosses will be called before a Senate inquiry to explain why footy-mad Tasmania has been denied a league team of its own, reports The Herald Sun. The AFL commissioners have prioritised the admission of Gold Coast and western Sydney teams over Tasmania. The Senate will today back a bid by Tasmanian Labor senator Kerry O'Brien for a committee inquiry into the AFL's decision. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou is expected to be among those called to give evidence before the Senate committee. "This will keep the pressure on the AFL to give Tasmania a fair shake," O'Brien said last night. "It's about revealing to the public the whole rationale for the AFL's decisions and exposing the strength of Tasmania's case and the best way possible in an environment where people can say what they want to say under parliamentary privilege." The AFL was last night standing by its decision to make the granting of licences to Gold Coast and western Sydney a priority. "The AFL has decided the 17th and 18th teams will be from western Sydney and the Gold Coast," spokesman Patrick Keane said. "Beyond that we've not made any decision on the creation of any new teams in any particular areas." Eight-one per cent of respondents to the Herald Sun's Footy Fans Survey last month favoured Tasmania over Queensland and New South Wales as the home of a new team.
EAGLES OF 2006 BETTER THAN CATS
His Eagles side of 2008 may have no chance of beating Geelong this weekend, but West Coast coach John Worsfold says he would back his premiership team of 2006 against the current Cats juggernaut, reports The Age. Even the ever-focused Worsfold could afford a wry smile when asked whether his team could beat Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday - not surprising given the 135-point humiliation by the Cats at Subiaco in round 13. But Worsfold sparked an interesting debate by saying he believed the Eagles of 2006, including the likes of Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Daniel Chick and Daniel Kerr, would have given the reigning premiers a classic contest. “We can (win this weekend) - but it would be a big win if we could do it. All we can guarantee is that we will give it everything, not just count the minutes in the game until the end of the season," Worsfold said. "The expectation is probably not that we are a great chance to win but that anything could happen. We do not have our 2006 premiership side out there running around the weekend - if that was the case, I would back us in."
LOVETT ON THE OUTER
He might've blown it, Andrew Lovett, writes The Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson. “At 25, and after four seasons and 65 games, Essendon's wayward match-winner will be put up for trade. The question is why. The answer is Lovett, like many players before him, has taken the game, his teammates and his club for granted. Lovett is a young man who was born with talent, athleticism and a craving for the big stage. And yet, in the supposed prime-time of his footballing life, he has forced his club to put him on the trade table. It's staggering he's let his opportunity to come to this,” Robinson says. “This for a guy who won the Anzac Day Medal in his first handful of games for the Bombers in 2005, who turned himself from small forward to breakneck wingman, who plays the game in the most simplistic and pleasurable manner that you hope to dear God there's many more indigenous players just like him.
DRUG AGENCY ON DEFENSIVE
Australian sports anti-doping investigators last night confirmed they targeted specific sportspeople for testing, reports The Herald Sun. But they insisted their procedures for AFL players were no different to other athletes. As outspoken Western Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis questioned in his weekly column why he was repeatedly tested, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority defended its testing regime. However, ASADA refused to comment on Akermanis's suggestion the same players were regularly tested because the agency knew they would come up clean.
ANOTHER DOCKER GOES
Fremantle Luke Webster will not be seeking a contract extension, leaving his career stranded on 33 games. The 26-year-old has endured a torrid run with injuries, suffering three ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and one in his right. The latest occurred on April 5 this year while playing for his WAFL side East Perth. In an attempt to keep his AFL dream alive, Webster underwent the same radical knee surgery as Sydney's Nick Malceski. The procedure, known as LARS (ligament augmentation and replacement surgery), uses an industrial strength polyester fibre to repair the damage. Webster made a successful return to WAFL ranks just 91 days after suffering the injury but his hopes of an AFL recall were derailed when he required further surgery on the knee.
DIABETES FORCES BASSETT RETIREMENT
All-Australian defender Nathan Bassett has delivered Adelaide a shock with news that he is retiring due to poor health, reports The Age. Bassett, 31, said he feared that in time he would lose his mobility if he played another season because he had Type 1 diabetes. "My ankle is not particularly great, my neck is sore, and I am a Type 1 diabetic, so it takes a lot of organisation to play every week and a lot of preparation," Bassett said. Coach Neil Craig and club chief executive Steven Trigg described Bassett, who was traded by Melbourne in 1997 and has played 208 AFL games for Adelaide, as one of the Crows' most courageous players, but Bassett deflected that attention by saying teammate Jason Porplyzia typified the meaning of courage every week. Porplyzia again hurt his shoulder at training yesterday, but will persist, and play against the Western Bulldogs at AAMI Stadium on Saturday. Bassett has played 208 AFL games in 11 seasons with Adelaide.
BLUES TO EXTEND RATTEN
Carlton is on the verge of extending coach Brett Ratten's contract after a successful year that delivered the club 10 wins heading into the final round, reports The Age. Ratten will talk to chief executive Greg Swann at the end of the season, but Swann revealed that talks this week pointed to a longer-term deal for the former Blues captain. "We would certainly be looking very favourably at extending Brett's contract because the club has improved tremendously and we think there's more improvement to come," Swann said. Ratten is happy to leave contract talks until the club's annual season review, but said "it would be great" to extend the two-year deal he started this season. He took the reins as interim coach with six games left last year after Denis Pagan was sacked. "If the club thinks I deserve an extension, I would love to get one, but we'll sit down and see what happens," Ratten said yesterday.
PATFULL SAYS LIONS MAY HAVE GOT COMFORTABLE
Brisbane Lions defender Joel Patfull has hinted complacency set into the AFL club's squad during the season, causing the Lions to miss out on a finals spot, reports The Age.
He might've blown it, Andrew Lovett, writes The Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson. “At 25, and after four seasons and 65 games, Essendon's wayward match-winner will be put up for trade. The question is why. The answer is Lovett, like many players before him, has taken the game, his teammates and his club for granted. Lovett is a young man who was born with talent, athleticism and a craving for the big stage. And yet, in the supposed prime-time of his footballing life, he has forced his club to put him on the trade table. It's staggering he's let his opportunity to come to this,” Robinson says. “This for a guy who won the Anzac Day Medal in his first handful of games for the Bombers in 2005, who turned himself from small forward to breakneck wingman, who plays the game in the most simplistic and pleasurable manner that you hope to dear God there's many more indigenous players just like him.
DRUG AGENCY ON DEFENSIVE
Australian sports anti-doping investigators last night confirmed they targeted specific sportspeople for testing, reports The Herald Sun. But they insisted their procedures for AFL players were no different to other athletes. As outspoken Western Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis questioned in his weekly column why he was repeatedly tested, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority defended its testing regime. However, ASADA refused to comment on Akermanis's suggestion the same players were regularly tested because the agency knew they would come up clean.
ANOTHER DOCKER GOES
Fremantle Luke Webster will not be seeking a contract extension, leaving his career stranded on 33 games. The 26-year-old has endured a torrid run with injuries, suffering three ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and one in his right. The latest occurred on April 5 this year while playing for his WAFL side East Perth. In an attempt to keep his AFL dream alive, Webster underwent the same radical knee surgery as Sydney's Nick Malceski. The procedure, known as LARS (ligament augmentation and replacement surgery), uses an industrial strength polyester fibre to repair the damage. Webster made a successful return to WAFL ranks just 91 days after suffering the injury but his hopes of an AFL recall were derailed when he required further surgery on the knee.
DIABETES FORCES BASSETT RETIREMENT
All-Australian defender Nathan Bassett has delivered Adelaide a shock with news that he is retiring due to poor health, reports The Age. Bassett, 31, said he feared that in time he would lose his mobility if he played another season because he had Type 1 diabetes. "My ankle is not particularly great, my neck is sore, and I am a Type 1 diabetic, so it takes a lot of organisation to play every week and a lot of preparation," Bassett said. Coach Neil Craig and club chief executive Steven Trigg described Bassett, who was traded by Melbourne in 1997 and has played 208 AFL games for Adelaide, as one of the Crows' most courageous players, but Bassett deflected that attention by saying teammate Jason Porplyzia typified the meaning of courage every week. Porplyzia again hurt his shoulder at training yesterday, but will persist, and play against the Western Bulldogs at AAMI Stadium on Saturday. Bassett has played 208 AFL games in 11 seasons with Adelaide.
BLUES TO EXTEND RATTEN
Carlton is on the verge of extending coach Brett Ratten's contract after a successful year that delivered the club 10 wins heading into the final round, reports The Age. Ratten will talk to chief executive Greg Swann at the end of the season, but Swann revealed that talks this week pointed to a longer-term deal for the former Blues captain. "We would certainly be looking very favourably at extending Brett's contract because the club has improved tremendously and we think there's more improvement to come," Swann said. Ratten is happy to leave contract talks until the club's annual season review, but said "it would be great" to extend the two-year deal he started this season. He took the reins as interim coach with six games left last year after Denis Pagan was sacked. "If the club thinks I deserve an extension, I would love to get one, but we'll sit down and see what happens," Ratten said yesterday.
PATFULL SAYS LIONS MAY HAVE GOT COMFORTABLE
Brisbane Lions defender Joel Patfull has hinted complacency set into the AFL club's squad during the season, causing the Lions to miss out on a finals spot, reports The Age.
The Lions were sitting seventh on the ladder after round 11, coming off a four-game winning streak. They crumbled from there to lose seven of their next 10 matches, among them narrow losses to Melbourne, Richmond and North Melbourne. Saturday's loss to Carlton at the Gabba, which came after the home side held a 32-point lead at the final break, finally put an end to the Lions' finals aspirations. "At the halfway mark (of the season) we probably thought that we were going to play finals the way we were going," Patfull said yesterday. "We had a bit of an easier run, you could probably say, after our first half, and that's when we struggled a bit to finish those games off. I'd have to say we'd be pretty disappointed with the way we finished off (the year)."
