Wednesday 10 December 2008
YZE NOMINATES FOR DRAFT
Former Melbourne star Adem Yze has nominated for the pre-season draft in a bid to prolong his 14-year AFL career, reports The Herald Sun. Yze, who has been linked to AFLQ club Aspley, nominated himself yesterday. The former All-Australian and best-and-fairest half-forward was dumped by Melbourne last season after playing just six games. At 31, Yze joins Fremantle midfielder Josh Carr, Melbourne defender Chris Johnson and Richmond forward David Gourdis in Pre-Season Draft contention. No more than six clubs will take part in Tuesday's pre-season draft, making Yze's prospects of playing on at another club extremely slim. The draft order is Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Essendon, Carlton, Brisbane and Richmond, with the Power committed to Carr and the Blues keen on Johnson.
COLLINGWOOD LOOK FOR NSW FOOTING
A Collingwood bid to field an under-18 team in the Sydney football competition in a joint venture with Sydney University is being considered by the AFL, reports The Age. The Magpies and Sydney University have put forward a revolutionary proposal that would see the powerful Melbourne club and the Sydney University Football Club jointly entering a junior team for the 2009 season. In effect, the under-18 team, which would compete in the AFL Sydney under-18 competition, would act as a development squad for Collingwood, with a view to providing the Magpies with a vehicle to control and develop their own NSW scholarship players. Collingwood has already placed one of its NSW scholarship players, Scott Reed, on the club's rookie list for 2009, and has been one of the most aggressive clubs in seeking to recruit players from non-traditional football markets such as NSW. The AFL's NSW-ACT general manager Dale Holmes last night confirmed that Collingwood and Sydney University were seeking to have a team admitted into the under-18 competition for the 2009 season.
EAGLES TO PROTECT KERR
West Coast are set to put Daniel Kerr in cotton wool for the start of the NAB Cup, in a bid to protect the ace midfielder’s injured knee from the wear and tear which inhibited him this year, reports The West Australian. Kerr, who played just 11 times last season due to injury and suspension, remains on a modified program in the club’s last week of full pre-Christmas training before they head to Rottnest Island next week for a camp. Yesterday he did some running and light skills work at Claremont Oval before icing the knee. Eagles football operations manager Neale Daniher said Kerr was maintaining a workload of low-impact training to maintain his condition, but the club would take things carefully. “Kerrie is going OK,” he said. “He had that arthroscope on his knee and what we are doing is just managing his workload out on the track. We are minimising his kicking.” Daniher said the three-week spread of the first round of the NAB Cup (the Eagles play Collingwood in Cape Town on February 7 and won’t be required to play again until February 28) gave the club scope to play Kerr for their first games at the end of February or the first week of March.
HARSH RESULT FOR LIONS
The Brisbane Lions face a fiery annual general meeting after more than $2 million of members' money was wiped off their share portfolio, reports The Courier-Mail. Members at next Wednesday's meeting will be told that Brisbane posted a trading operating profit of $128,290, but the global economic crisis had savaged the club's portfolio, plunging the annual profit-loss statement about $2.2 million into the red. The wisdom of playing the sharemarket has been one of the few issues the club's generally compliant members have questioned. According to the Lions' 2007 annual report, the club's portfolio was valued about $5 million on October 31, 2007. But auditors estimate the value has sunk to about $2 million. Overall, the Lions posted a $2.2 million loss when the actual net losses of a further $200,000 from the forced sale of other shareholdings was factored in. Lions chairman Tony Kelly stressed it wasn't money the club needed to pay its bills, and said although the value had dropped, they had still paid a healthy dividend.
BIG GUNS COMMITTED TO ALL-STARS
|Organisers of next year's Indigenous All-Stars game are confident of avoiding the farcical last-minute withdrawal of Sydney's stars in 2007, reports The Herald Sun. The All-Stars will play the Crowson February 7 in Darwin, with Brisbane premiership defender Chris Johnson announced as coach. Sydney’s determination to allow Adam Goodes and Michael O'Loughlin just five minutes of game time a quarter overshadowed last year's spectacle against Essendon. AFLNT chief executive Tony Frawley accused Sydney of "actively casting a shadow over the great story this event is", with Goodes and O'Loughlin eventually dumped by the All Stars. Hawthorn's Lance Franklin was also ruled out despite playing an intra-club game on the same weekend. But Frawley said yesterday every indigenous player would be in Darwin in the first week of February for the AFLPA Indigenous Camp.
EDDIE GOES EVERYWHERE AGAIN
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire is increasingly likely to host a heavy-hitting, 90-minute morning radio show on SEN next year, reports The Herald Sun. The show would run from 8.30am-10am. McGuire would be fighting for listeners with 3AW's Neil Mitchell and 774 ABC's Jon Faine. Richmond legend Kevin Barlett's show would be pushed back an hour and run from 10am-1pm. McGuire has called AFL games for SEN this year, but has been keen to expand his radio presence. SEN continues to make slow but constant progress in boosting its ratings. In TV news, Leigh Matthews' move to Channel Seven is likely to result in coverage with two commentators at ground level.
DEMONS GO CASUAL
Melbourne will abandon its stuffy jacket-and-tie image at its pre-match functions, reports The Herald Sun. The AFL's most conservative club has a multi-pronged plan to be financially viable and create a more friendly vibe among members. The Demons are working on themed "event" rounds, harnessing the community at its Casey Fields training base, and are keen to promote the club to children. The club has 13,500 signed members - up from 9000 this time last year - and wants 15,000 by Christmas. It is eagerly awaiting next week's AFL Commission ruling on its $2 million special funding request. A "youth" game against Richmond and a match focused on green issues have been planned. Its exclusive chairman's lunches will take on a more relaxed feeling as a "president's club". Ties won't be necessary, nor will there be set menus and an elitist atmosphere.
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