Underdone Dons a chance

2013 preview: The arrival of Brendon Goddard won't be enough to push the Bombers into the top eight, says Fox Footy expert Brad Johnson.

David Zaharakis will play VFL on Friday for Essendon. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

ESSENDON is seeking permission from the AFL to play several underdone players in its VFL team in a practice match on Friday night.

Midfielders David Zaharakis and Jake Melksham head the list the Bombers want to get urgent match fitness before the AFL opening round.

Under AFL and Players' Association rules, a club must get approval to trial players the weekend before its first home-and-away game.

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Zaharakis (strained thigh) and Melksham (broken hand) have missed the NAB Cup and are short of match conditioning for the first game against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Friday week.

"We've applied for eight to 10 players who have had missed or interrupted preparations to play in this VFL match,'' Bombers football operations manager Danny Corcoran said.

"With the extended interchange bench, some players have played only half games. So, we'll just wait for the approval to come through. The AFL will declare who's available.''

Zaharakis, sidelined for almost the entire second half of last season with a severe quad muscle injury, is ready to go again following a minor recurrence of the same ailment at training in late January.

Melksham managed only one NAB Cup appearance after being accidentally kicked in the hand during an intraclub game.

Injury-prone forward Scott Gumbledon, who played three quarters with the VFL team last weekend, is another the Bombers want to play against Bendigo Gold at Windy Hill on Friday.

Essendon's senior list will train normally this week and have the weekend off.

Forward Michael Hurley will appreciate the break to rest the sprained ankle from the last NAB Cup game against the GWS Giants in Canberra. "He'll be fine. They just put him in the (moon) boot to slow him down,'' Corcoran said.

Meanwhile, Collingwood and North Melbourne are both set to be weakened for their Round 1 clash.

The Roos will be without suspended defender Scott McMahon, while Dale Thomas and Luke Ball look set to miss through injury.

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Dusty ready to explode: Hardwick

Richmond's Dustin Martin at pre-season training. Picture: Stuart Walmsley. Source: Herald Sun

A CLOSE bond with former Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams will be the making of Dustin Martin, says Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.

The powerful 21-year-old midfielder had his struggles on and off-field last year, earning a club suspension and failing to live up to the promise of his first two seasons.

But as Martin enters his fourth year, Hardwick says he's fitter, more settled and ready to play the sort of football he's always looked capable of producing.

"The fact is he's working incredibly hard on the field and off the field he's started a part-time job, which we're really excited about," Hardwick said.

"He's getting some stability in his life and he's formed a really close relationship with (new Tigers development coach Mark) Williams.

"We think this will be the making of him as a player.

"He's had a fantastic pre-season, we certainly look forward to him having a good season in 2013.

"I'd be getting him in your (SuperCoach) side, put it that way."

Hardwick rated Martin as the Tigers' best in several of their early pre-season games.

He said even in their nail-biting recent win over Essendon, when Martin played only a half, he was best afield.

It hasn't surprised him, given Martin's training performance.

"He's had an enormous pre-season. He's been very, very good," Hardwick said.

"His fitness work has improved."

The flow-on effect of Martin's increased fitness could be new Richmond captain Trent Cotchin becoming even more damaging.

The 22-year-old, admired for his courageous ball-winning in tight and smart distribution, was already joint runner-up in last year's Brownlow Medal count.

But Hardwick said Martin's readiness for more midfield time, the drafting of promising young midfielder Nick Vlastuin and the development of other youngsters would free up Cotchin.

The coach wants him to get more touches in space and kick more goals.

"We think he's capable of kicking two goals a game on a regular basis so we'll look to exploit that," Hardwick said.

He said while Vlastuin needed to learn where to run to gain more possessions, his toughness and good ball use were great starting ingredients.

"He's got some things that you look at him and go, 'Wow, this kid could be a very good player for us,"' Hardwick said.

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Pies waive Cloke's $1000 fine

Travis Cloke has been fined for parking in Gary Pert's car spot. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Magpies chief executive Gary Pert. Picture: Town Jay Source: Herald Sun

UPDATE: COLLINGWOOD forward Travis Cloke has escaped a fine for parking in chief executive Gary Pert's car space at the Westpac Centre.

In a twist to the bizarre saga, Cloke will instead serve volunteer nightshifts at the Salvation Army.

He met with Pert today to discuss the incident and expressed remorse.

The club agreed to suspend his $1000 fine in exchange for the community service.

Cloke was surprised that the issue had become public and admitted to being in the wrong.

Car parks outside the club's training base at the Westpac Centre on busy Swan St are in short supply and Cloke has reportedly been warned about parking in the spot reserved for Pert more than once.

The 2010 premiership player had been parking in Pert's spot on and off for more than a year.

The AFL Players' Association is not amused.

"It sounds like a ludicrous situation," an AFLPA spokesperson said.

"We can only assume there has been some kind of confusion - clearly the AFL players' code of conduct makes no reference to players being sanctioned for parking in an executive's car space."

Cloke signed a new five-year deal with the Magpies late last year following a long year of negotiations.

Many believed the contract situation affected his form last year, a claim Cloke has since denied.

It is the second time in a week Collingwood has fined a player for deeds away from the field.

Brownlow Medallist Dane Swane was fined for taking part, without the club's permission, a television interview in which he addressed rumours about alleged drug use.
 

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Murphy set to skipper Blues

Marc Murphy has edged Andrew Carrazzo and Kade Simpson for the Carlton captaincy. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

MARC Murphy will today be named Carlton captain.

Murphy, 25, replaces Chris Judd who stepped down from the role after five seasons.

The man who was taken as pick No.1 in the 2005 national draft beat Andrew Carrazzo and Kade Simpson for the role. His appointment was ratified by the board Tuesday night.

He was nominated by the match committee after the trio, and Nick Duigan, were given the chance to captain the Blues in the NAB Cup.

Murphy will lead the Blues for his first official engagement in Friday's NAB Cup Grand Final against Brisbane.

The captaincy decision is believed to have come down to a desperately close choice between Murphy and 29-year-old Carrazzo, with debate on whether to go with a short-term option in Carrazzo or a longer-term appointment in Murphy given he is 25.

In Murphy's favour also was his performance when captaining Carlton in four games late last season when Judd was injured.

The Blues won three of those matches and Murphy impressed in his ability to handle off-field commitments.

Carrazzo and Simpson will be vice-captains.

Judd and Michael Jamison, despite stepping down from the official leadership group, are still strong leaders at the club.

Duigan, the mature-aged recruit from Adelaide, was yesterday described by a club insider as a natural leader.

Against Duigan was his fluctuating form in 2012 after a very solid 2011.

Murphy, who has played 142 games (115 goals) and won a club best and fairest in 2011, becomes part of a rare club - his father John was captain at Fitzroy.

Tim and Jobe Watson and Gary Ablett Sr and Jr are other members.

Murphy is part of four captaincy changes in the AFL with Jarrad McVeigh being joined by Kieren Jack at Sydney after Adam Goodes stood down, Travis Boak taking the role at Port Adelaide from Dom Cassisi and Trent Cotchin taking over from Chris Newman at Richmond.

Carlton is a club that has remained stable in the captaincy stakes, having had just 10 leaders over the past 32 years. Geelong has had 17 in the same period.

THE Blues confirmed they have secured Carrazzo to a two-year deal, taking him out of the free agency equation.

Carlton is also nearing resolution with 26-year-old free agent Eddie Betts, with veteran Heath Scotland, the best and fairest winner, the club's only other free agent.

But given his age Scotland is happy to play out most of the year before considering his contract position.

Scotland won the Blues best and fairest last year and was an All-Australian nominee the previous year, so has the form to ponder playing on into 2014.

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Limiting rotations gives coaches licence to flood

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley with footy manager Geoff Walsh. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD'S football chief Geoff Walsh went to the 2010 season-ending meeting with then AFL football operations boss Adrian Anderson knowing he was wasting his breath.

When it came to the Magpies' turn to speak, in particular on the change to the interchange bench with a substitute, Walsh famously said: "What's the point, Adrian? You've already made up your mind - you just want to say we were consulted."

And so it is with the next change to the interchange bench - the capping of the rotations.

The AFL clubs thought this year's NAB Cup pre-season - in which they are restricted to 80 rotations - was a trial.

But the AFL Commission has already made up its mind - there will be a cap in next year's premiership season.

The only question left is what that cap will be. Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley thinks it should be around the current average of 130.

The expectation is the AFL will choose 120. This is 30 fewer than Adelaide's 2012 average.

Now the AFL has to consider the consequences of the cap. It should know by experience that coaches - all armed with coaching directors and strategists - will spend the next year fearing the cap. And the consequence will be to send football in 2014 back to its ugly days of flooding in the early 2000s.

Coaches will think this way: The cap will:

TIRE players who can no longer catch their breath on the bench.

AS a consequence, defences will be under pressure because midfielders and "floating" half-forwards will not have the energy reserves to trap the ball in their forward half.

Coaches will again favour stacking their defences. They will slow down the game. They will congest the game. They will dust down Paul Roos' premiership-winning playbook of 2005 . . . the one AFL chief Andrew Demetriou labelled as "ugly".

It is inevitable.

So every effort of the Laws of the Game committee to restore "continuous play" and to speed up the game will be lost.

The AFL's argument that the "furious" use of the interchange bench has increased the speed of the game - and with it the risk of serious high-impact injuries - is not supported by the game's latest medical report.

Rather, there is good reason to argue from the increase in soft-tissue injuries, as noted in the league's medical report, that limiting the bench with a substitute has proven the fear a cap leads to player fatigue.

There is still no sound reason offered by the AFL for a cap on interchange rotations. But there is good reason to fear the AFL will bring back football's ugly tactics with a  cap.

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Sydney set for Battle of the Bridge

Callan Ward and Kieren Jack at Glebe Point to promote the local derby "Battle of the Bridge" Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph

THE AFL's newest crosstown rivalry - between Sydney's Swans and Giants - will be known as the Battle of the Bridge.

No, not that bridge, the Anzac Bridge, the major route between the CBD and the city's west. But regardless of the Giants' rise, Swans co-captain Kieren Jack firmly believes that all of Sydney still belongs to the Swans.

"This talk of the 'Battle of the Bridge' I don't really buy into it we see ourselves as Sydney's team," Jack said.

"I went to school in Castle Hill and there's plenty of people west of there who all go for the Swans. We've got supporters everywhere. We want to maintain that.

"We've got a pretty good stranglehold on Sydney and want to maintain that."

The branding is another piece of genius from Giants coach Kevin Sheedy who maintained the Swans had no claim on the city's west.

"He can't have all of Sydney, I won't let him," Sheedy said. "You don't get too greedy you get indigestion. A Swan is a duck with a stretched neck."

Jack's comments are sure to add further spice to the round one match which already has some feeling after James McDonald broke the jaw of Swans youngster Luke Parker in last year's season opener. McDonald was suspended for two weeks and Parker missed three weeks with the injury. Sheedy said the match also recognises the Anzac legacy.

"Along with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Anzac Bridge has become a powerful landmark in Sydney but also pays respect to those who served this country," Sheedy said. "We want this to be big event for the people of Sydney and there is no bigger event in sport than a local derby.

"We think this will become one of the great rivalries in Australian sport."

The Giants beat the Swans for the first time in last month's NAB Cup.

"They didn't have a full team in but they still had about 10 premiership players in," co captain Callan Ward said. "It was a big deal for us. I believe we can (beat them),"

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Bombers jabbed up to 40 times

Essendon players were urged to have one injection a week. Picture: Hamish Blair Source: Herald Sun

EXCLUSIVE: A GROUP of Essendon players were injected up to 40 times each last season as part of the club's free-wheeling supplements program.

Some players were urged to have one injection a week, others two, as part of a regimen which ran from March to August.

"That's not astronomical, that's extremely astronomical," one club medico said last night.

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Players at most clubs average about one injection a year - for the flu or painkillers.

Essendon's injections program is understood to have been detailed in the controversial consent forms signed by the players at the start of the season.

The Herald Sun can reveal club officials have been interviewed by Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigators, but not the players.

No supplements given to the players and documented by Essendon have been found to be illegal by ASADA.

And the Bombers remain confident the substances injected were not in breach of anti-doping laws.

ASADA continues to investigate the practices of Essendon's former sports scientist, Stephen Dank.

Any doubts the Bombers still harbour centre on what took place at an anti-ageing clinic across the road from Windy Hill, where players were routinely injected.

The contents of those injections are being investigated by ASADA, as well as the medical techniques used during the first six months of last season.

The Herald Sun has learnt several Essendon players were caught on film by plain-clothes police arriving and leaving the clinic. It is believed the clinic was under surveillance.

Dank has denied providing Essendon players with anything illegal or banned.

The ASADA inquiry will also learn Essendon doctor Bruce Reid kept a detailed log of medical practices he was aware of at the club.

There are suggestions Reid was not aware of everything that took place, however he was concerned about players being taken off-site to receive injections - which involved a registered nurse and, reportedly, another doctor.

The AFL is considering banning injections as part of the massive overhaul of medical practices at clubs.

The Essendon coaches accused of taking substances by Dank are expected to tell investigators they did so to improve their appearance and fitness levels.

Regardless of the outcome of the ASADA investigation, Essendon expects to face sanctions from the AFL for poor internal governance.

Dank has been invited to appear before anti-doping investigators to explain his role in the saga, but is not obligated to attend.

The Bombers have conceded their supplement program was risky.

Chairman David Evans said: "Mistakes have been made, and I sincerely apologise that they have occurred."

Assistant coach Mark Thompson said: "When you live in an environment where you explore new territories - which that was for us - it was something we hadn't done before ... and obviously there is some risk involved."

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Blues: Ditch free agency compo

Greg Swann, chief executive of Carlton, wants free agency compensation abolished. Picture: Hargest Jon Source: HWT Image Library

CARLTON has backed calls to abolish free agency compensation and revealed it had re-signed restricted free agent Andrew Carrazzo to a long-term deal.

The Blues have submitted a proposal to the AFL calling for simplification of the compensation system, after clubs that lost free agents refused to move on securing other free agents in case it diluted their compensation.

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Carlton believes it is the responsibility of clubs to sign their stars or deal with the consequences if they leave.

Blues chief executive Greg Swann said Carlton had agreed to terms with Carrazzo, 29, and was all but over the line with free agent Eddie Betts, 26, second in the best and fairest and the club's leading goalkicker last year.

The AFL Players' Association told the Herald Sun yesterday it backed a no-compensation rule.

The AFL is considering all options.

Free agency was a resounding success last year, but compensation selections were handed out late in the player exchange period.

It resulted in bizarre situations like Port Adelaide trading a late pick for Essendon's Angus Monfries rather than taking him for free, scared it would affect the compensation it received for losing Danyle Pearce and Troy Chaplin.

"We are not big on compensation; we don't think it is necessary," Swann said.

"I think it stymied the actual exchange period.

"Free agency is designed to let people move, and, on occasion, that held the process up. In St Kilda's case they lost Brendon Goddard and they knew getting a free agent in would affect their net position."

Hawthorn would have massive salary cap room if it lost Lance Franklin, which means it will already be considering rival free agents in this year's pool.

According to Carlton, that cap room is enough compensation.

"Everyone along the journey will lose someone to free agency, so we will all be in the same boat," Swann said.

"Free agency is designed to get people to move, and if you haven't signed them up and you lose them, so be it. You can go out and get replacements. Our model is based on the NFL and I am not too sure they get compensation for losing free agents."

The Blues other free agency contender this year, Heath Scotland, is likely to remain unsigned.

But Swann said Scotland, who won the club's best-and-fairest award last year and was in the All-Australian squad of 40 in 2011, was happy to wait until later in the season to consider his position.

Scotland will turn 33 in July but his current form means he is some chance to play on next year.

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Adelaide Crows ready to fly solo

Crows chairman Rob Chapman says the Adelaide Football Club is ready to start the next phase of its history. Source: The Advertiser

CROWS chairman Rob Chapman has delivered the vision of a new Adelaide Football Club expecting independence from the SANFL this week.

The club's AFL licence is ready to be signed away by the SANFL club presidents, 22 years after the Crows were formed as SA's first entry to the expanding VFL.

SA Football Commission chairman John Olsen last night briefed the SANFL club presidents on negotiations with the AFL to release SA's two AFL licences that are badged Adelaide and Port Adelaide.

"We're not there yet, but I hope we are only days away from clearing away a range of approvals (to hand back the licences to the AFL)," said Olsen.

The Crows and Power would then answer to the AFL Commission rather than the SANFL.

Both club boards from November would be independently appointed by members or the current directors rather than need to be ratified by the SA Football Commission.

"We can then start the next phase of our history - and we do it very well prepared," Chapman said at the Crows' season launch at West Lakes.

Adelaide already has the frame of a new constitution that will for the first time give Crows members a greater say in the make-up of the club's board. This has been written in recent months by Chapman, deputy chairman Jim Hazel and former club chief executive and chairman Bill Sanders.

"Our members deserve that right," Chapman said last night.

"With independence, we need a new constitution to determine how that right looks."

The Crows and Power will pay the SANFL for their independence - Adelaide more so than Port.

The release of the licences will deliver an annual payback cheque worth a total of $15 million in the next 15 years from the AFL clubs to the SANFL.

As Chapman last night delivered the first vision of the new AFC with a home at Adelaide Oval in 2014, he also cleared away the stain from the Kurt Tippett saga. He announced:

ADELAIDE'S first audit-integrity committee, chaired by lawyer-accountant Garry Winter. He will be joined by the Lotteries Commission's June Roache and a senior police representative.

A NEW operating framework for the Adelaide board. It will work with five committees and new charters, all designed to ensure the Crows meet the compliance test "100 per cent".

"We are already 100 per cent adhering to all AFL rules and laws. Every file at our club has been checked by the AFL's forensic accountants," he said.

Adelaide's methods were brought into question last year with Tippett's secret 2009 deal that included a promise to deliver the key forward to the club of his choice.

The AFL fined Adelaide $300,000, docked the club draft picks and suspended chief executive Steven Trigg, operations chief Phil Harper and former football chief John Reid.

Adelaide last night recognised inaugural coach Graham Cornes and head trainer Vince Del Bono with life membership.

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Jordan flags his intentions

Hawthorn midfielder Jordan Lewis has re-signed with the Hawks. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

HAWTHORN midfield star Jordan Lewis says the lure of a second premiership meant his decision to re-sign with the Hawks was a "no-brainer".

Lewis has renegotiated the last year of his contract as a free agent and added two more seasons that will see his deal expire at the end of 2015.

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But while he says players are petrified about leaving the Hawks and seeing them win another flag, he defends Lance Franklin's right to delay contract talks.

The pair are close friends, but the 26-year-old says players deserve the right to finish their contracts before starting negotiations after last year winning the right to free agency.

"I have basically committed for another three years. I was contracted for this year, but we redid this year and the club presented an option of another two, and in my position, it was a no-brainer," he said.

"We have won one premiership, and once you have won one with a side you have been given the opportunity to play for, you want to hang around. Hopefully, there's more success here in the future.

"There would be nothing worse than leaving this club and seeing all your mates up on the dais receiving their medals. You would definitely be kicking yourself if that happened."

As a hard-headed midfield star who was acting captain for much of the 2012 season with Luke Hodge injured, Lewis would have had huge leverage if he delayed his contract negotiations.

He believes Franklin will stay at Hawthorn, despite telling the club he will delay talks until after the season.

"It is hard to hypothetically predict what will happen, but I know he's happy here and he's playing some good football. It will take place at the end of the year, which is what he wants.

"He is a contracted player, so he has said, and we have said, we don't know what the fuss is about. When the time comes, I am sure he will make the right decision.

"The players in the past have been really restricted and the club has held all the cards, which in any situation is tough to be in. But now players have a say (under free agency) and have some ownership on where their future lies, and that's only good for the game."

Lewis became a high-profile concussion case after his 2010 collision with Western Bulldog Jarrod Harbrow.

Jordan Lewis waves to the crowd after being knocked out in a collision with Jarrod Harbrow. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

He did not miss a week, but struggled badly in subsequent rounds and agrees Carlton midfielder Greg Williams' testimony about the long-term effects of knocks to the head was alarming.

"The hardest thing with concussion is that you can do all the tests, but once you get to the game intensity, you don't really know how you are going to react.

"That was the problem with me - I did all the testing and I was fine, but once you are in the season, everything is about recovery during the week and it's not until game day that you are at game intensity.

"So maybe there should be some testing on decision-making later on in the week at game intensity.

"That would be a step in the right direction.

"We were a bit pig-headed once to think if you got concussion you could go straight out there again and there would be no after-effects. But we see former players struggling with some of the after-effects from hits they took in their career, so if we do miss one or two games it's not the end of the world."

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