Saturday, January 28, 2012
Motlop, Rioli take reins of strugglng Buffaloes
Two well-known Northern Territory sports identities will try to resurrect the fortunes of struggling NTFL club, the Darwin Buffaloes.
Southern Districts premiership coach Mark Motlop and former Essendon star Dean Rioli will guide the team from next season.
The Buffaloes have had a miserable season, and are yet to win a game.
Since winning the NTFL Premiership in 2005, the club has struggled to produce consistent, winning form
Buffaloes president John Paterson says Motlop has signed a three-year deal as coach, with Rioli likely to be his assistant.
"Dean has ... approached the club and said he wants to participate, and be involved in some sort of role, which he and Mark will sort out in due course," he said.
The Buffaloes hope current coach Damien Zammit will stay with the club as a player.
Rioli says the NTFL club should be very competitive next season.
Rioli, who will play a key recruiting role for the club, says there is no reason the winless Buffaloes can't be competing in the finals next season.
"You know, they are getting beaten by 100 to 150 points each week this year," he said.
"But I think with the players that we have already spoken to, we are going to have a very competitive side.
"It is just a matter of getting them to gel.
"I can't see why, in three years, we shouldn't be aiming for a premiership again."
Tags: australian-football-league, sports-organisations, regional, clubs-and-associations, darwin-0800 First posted January 26, 2012 13:35:46Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Swans sign US basketballer
The Sydney Swans have signed US college basketballer Alex Starling.
The 22-year-old will combine his studies at Florida's Bethune-Cookman University with several trips to Sydney this year to meet with Swans' coaching staff and try to learn the skills required to cut it at AFL level.
Starling has joined the club under the AFL's international scholarship scheme, with Sydney hoping to add him to their senior list as an international rookie in 2013.
While there have been plenty of basketballers to crossover to the AFL - headlined by Dean Brogan who won both an NBL and AFL premiership - the Swans' American approach is more unique than these cases.
The 196cm, 93kg forward was identified by Sydney's academy coach Paul Roos during a trip to the US in 2011.
Roos invited Starling and three other college basketballers to a two-day camp in Redondo Beach, California, last June.
Starling impressed and then came to Australia for three weeks of testing last August, where his athleticism made an impression on coach John Longmire, development manager Stuart Maxfield, and head of player personnel Kinnear Beatson.
"Alex is not only an outstanding basketballer but he has also played American football as well," Roos said.
"We saw an amazing athlete with great speed, great hands and an incredible capacity to learn a new game.
"Of course we understand Alex has a lot of work to do but certainly he has the right attitude to attack this enormous challenge."
Beatson, who heads the Swans' recruiting team, noted how much potential Starling showed in the three-week period.
"He displayed the ability to grasp the skills of our game, particularly soft hands in marking contests and the capacity to weight his kicks," he said.
"We are excited about his potential and what the future holds for Alex.
He showed in his time with us last year that he also has a fierce desire to succeed."
Starling will learn under Roos, Maxfield and development coach George Stone when he visits Sydney.
The Swans are hoping he follows in the steps of Irishman Tadhg Kennelly, who won a premiership with the side after coming to Australia on a rookie contract in 1999.
Kieren Jack (rugby league) and Lewis Roberts-Thomson (rugby union) have also crafted AFL careers after picking up the game late, while former Canadian rugby international Mike Pyke has played 28 AFL games.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia First posted January 25, 2012 14:44:12Tuesday, January 24, 2012
St Marys wants AFL review of blanket footy bans
St Marys Northern Territory Football League club will ask the AFL to review a rule that almost brought the career of one of its stars to an end.
Three time AFL premiership player Darryl White was facing a life ban after being suspended for more than the maximum 15 weeks over the course of his career.
White successfully challenged the ban and will be free to play in this weekend's NTFL game against Southern Districts.
But club president Shaun Hardy says the 15-week rule should take into account how long a player has been involved in the game.
"We think that the intent of the policy is very clear and unquestionable," he said.
"However, not taking into account the number of games played and not taking into account the nature of offences needs to be looked at.
"In our submission, we put forward exceptional circumstances in Darryl's case.
"This should not be seen as a blanket submission that covers every case."
White has played more than 900 games with AFL-affiliated clubs over his long career.
Tags: australian-football-league, sports-organisations, regional, darwin-0800, melbourne-3000, brisbane-4000 First posted January 24, 2012 18:17:06Darryl White re-registered after ban appeal
Former AFL premiership star Darryl White has been re-registered to play in the Northern Territory after successfully appealing a decision to ban him for life.
In December, AFLNT deregistered the former Brisbane Lions great under a rule for all AFL-affiliated competitions that bans players for life if they are suspended for more than 15 games.
White, 38, who plays for the St Mary's Football Club in the Northern Territory, had been given a one-match suspension for striking Tiwi Bomber Donald Mungatopi, pushing him above the limit.
But on Monday evening, AFLNT said the independent appeals board had decided to re-register White following his appeal.
"The re-registration has been granted subject to the completion of a re-offender prevention plan undertaken by him and the St Mary's Football Club," the statement said.
Further details of what the re-offender prevention plan entails will be released on Tuesday, an AFLNT spokesman said.
White played in Brisbane's three premiership sides from 2001-03 and in 2005 was named at full-back in the Australian Rules football Indigenous Team of the Century.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, nt, australia First posted January 23, 2012 23:19:59Varcoe sidelined for start of AFL season
Geelong midfielder Travis Varcoe will miss the start of the 2012 AFL season due to a foot injury.
Varcoe was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot on Tuesday, with the club's football manager Neil Balme suggesting the dual premiership player will be sidelined for at least 10 weeks.
"It is a blow, but we expect he will only miss the start of the season proper," Balme told the club's website.
"The best course of action to correct the problem is for him to have surgery.
"It is unfortunate that he will miss around 10 weeks, but we will not rush his recovery.
"We have to be able to deal with injuries, and we expect other players will step up in Travis's absence."
The 23-year-old kicked three goals in last year's grand final and played 24 games in the 2011 season, his pressure and pace being a regular sight in the Cats' triumphs.
The preseason blow will be a significant hurdle for Varcoe to overcome, although he has a track record for dealing with limited preparation.
He suffered a shoulder injury while in Ireland for the International Rules series in 2010, meaning his 2011 preseason was delayed due to surgery.
He also missed the first five rounds of the 2010 season due to a broken thumb sustained in a preseason match.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, geelong-3220, vic, australia First posted January 24, 2012 20:06:48Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Selwood named new Cats captain
Jimmy Bartel reckons Joel Selwood had AFL captain written all over him from the moment he first walked into the Geelong Football Club as a teenager.
He now has the official title after being named the reigning premiers' new skipper following the retirement of Cameron Ling after last year's grand final victory.
Brownlow medallist Bartel was named vice-captain, while the star-studded leadership group also included James Kelly, Joel Corey, Harry Taylor, Corey Enright and the mercurial Steve Johnson, who joined the official group for the first time.
Nicknamed "Boy Wonder", the 23-year-old gun midfielder was an easy choice for captain, according to Bartel.
"In regards to all areas; the way he handles himself amongst the group, his professionalism, the way he prepares to play, the way he leads on the field, the way he attacks the game," said Bartel.
"He has credibility written all over him in every area so it was pretty easy for the rest of us to pick Joel as captain."
Selwood follows Ling and Tom Harley - who both won premierships during their reign - into the captaincy but said he did not feel pressure to emulate their success.
In his five years in the AFL he has played a key role in the Cats' 2007, 2009 and 2011 flag-winning campaigns.
"They're probably two of the best captains the football club's ever had and maybe even throughout the AFL history," Selwood said.
"It would be silly not to get in touch with them; they have set the culture, along with these guys beside me, at this football club.
"They still bleed blue and white and are still proud of the football club."
He also named former Swans skippers Paul Kelly and Brett Kirk as leaders he had admired.
Selwood, who has not captained since under-age level, predicted he would make mistakes in his new role but said the calibre and experience of the players in the leadership group would help him with the transition.
"I know I'm going to do that but I will do my best not to make them twice," he added.
"I'm probably going to be a sponge over the next few years while I've got these guys around me."
The only new face in the leadership group was Johnson, who had a miracle recovery from a serious knee injury to be one of the Cats' stars in the grand final win over Collingwood, kicking four goals.
He went close to being forced out of the club after one too many off-field indiscretions in 2006, but has since gone on the straight and narrow to post career-best numbers.
He said he looked forward to the added responsibility.
"My standing in the group has been able to improve over the last three or four years," Johnson said.
"It's not something I set out to to do but I suppose being one of the older players in the group I see it as my role to pass as much knowledge as I can to the younger players."
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, geelong-3220, vic, australia First posted January 20, 2012 17:34:56Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Hurley close to return
Essendon star Michael Hurley is expected to make his return from a hamstring injury late in the preseason cup according to Bombers skipper Jobe Watson.
The 21-year-old was put on a modified training program after experiencing tightness in his hamstring last week.
The rising Bomber forward has already had his fair share of injuries in his short career, suffering a foot problem late in the 2011 season.
At Friday morning's session at Victoria Park, Hurley appeared untroubled as he jogged in 100 metre intervals.
Watson said the club will keep a close eye on Hurley but he was not in danger of missing the start of the home and away season.
"The type of player he is and the position and the importance he has to the team we made sure we didn't risk him," Watson said.
"He'll progress with his running today and it's just a matter of integrating him back into training.
"I wouldn't imagine he'll be playing early in the NAB Cup but like the rest of us he'll be there late in the NAB Cup."
In the first round of the preseason competition the Bombers fly to Perth to take on West Coast and Fremantle on February 19.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, essendon-3040, melbourne-3000, vic First posted January 13, 2012 12:06:07Cousins in mental health hospital: report
Troubled former AFL star Ben Cousins has reportedly been taken to a mental health hospital in Perth.
The West Australian newspaper says it is understood he was admitted to the psychiatric unit for his own safety.
The paper says Cousins was taken yesterday by ambulance to the Joondalup Health Campus mental health unit after a prolonged psychosis related to his battle with drug addiction.
Doctors treating Cousins reportedly committed the 33-year-old after he showed no sign of improvement following more than four days in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
Cousins has been in hospital since Monday after he fell and hit his head at a drug rehabilitation clinic.
Cousins was one of the most decorated West Coast Eagles players, winning the 2005 Brownlow Medal and playing in their 2006 premiership side before the club sacked him in late 2007 because of his drug addiction.
He was suspended for 12 months by the AFL for bringing the game into disrepute before ending his playing career with the Richmond Tigers in 2010.
He welcomed his first child, Bobby Ernest Cousins, with partner Maylea Tinecheff in September.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, mental-health, health, perth-6000, wa First posted January 14, 2012 12:31:07Merrett's return boosts Lions' hopes
It is not just Lion king Jonathan Brown who Brisbane believes will lift it out of the AFL cellar in 2012.
Brown's vice-captain Daniel Merrett is also ready to provide a significant boost from the other end of the ground this season after a full recovery from a serious back problem.
Full-back Merrett was in wonderful form over the first 10 rounds of 2011 before a stress fracture ended his season as the Lions, sorely missing their influential bookends, slumped to 15th.
But, like Brown who is now well over his horrific facial fractures, the 27-year-old is champing at the bit following a lengthy preseason which has him in the best shape of his career.
Despite few changes to Michael Voss's young list, Merrett stressed confidence of a jump back up the ladder was high at the club.
"To have your skipper out there is always pretty handy," the defender said.
"When he is missing most of the year, especially the influence that Browny has, it's pretty tough.
"The group definitely walks taller whan he's out there."
While there is little change to personnel, Merrett stressed it would be a stronger young list.
"Our young boys are another year older as well and they're stepping up," he said.
"Even (2011 club champion) Tommy Rockliff, the amount of influence he has on the group now and he's only 22, he has another year under his belt and he will take a lot of confidence out of last year.
"Across the board, you're just going to get that improvement from everyone and more blokes chipping in."
One new face is Hawthorn recruit Jordan Lisle, 21, who has impressed in training to be a prime candidate to partner Brown up front.
AAP
Tags: sport, australian-football-league, brisbane-4000, qld, australia First posted January 16, 2012 18:44:50Judd ready for preseason
Carlton skipper Chris Judd is ahead of schedule following last month's shoulder surgery and is set to lead the Blues during the preseason AFL competition.
As part of the main training group, Judd took part in all but contact training on Friday, allaying concerns his 2012 season could have been affected by the injury.
The dual Brownlow Medallist looked leaner than ever, perhaps due to his forced focus on running rather than weights.
Team-mate Michael Jamison said the club was pleased with the progress of its star midfielder.
"I think he's well ahead of schedule, even though the surgery was quite minor in the end anyway," Jamison said.
"He'll probably have another couple of weeks with no contact and then be ready to go."
Jamison said Judd would definitely play in the latter stages of the preseason cup.
"To what extent I'm not sure but I would have thought he'll play the last couple of NAB Cup games before round one."
Backline competition
Jamison missed seven weeks towards the end of 2011 with a knee injury before returning for Carlton's final three games, but the defender said he was back to 100 per cent.
"I was limited before Christmas but now we're back, I'm back into full training and full contact so I'm feeling really good."
In his absence forward Lachlan Henderson shifted to defence, where he has remained training over preseason.
Jamison was looking forward to spending more time with him at that end of the ground and said Henderson's flexibility was crucial for the team.
"He did really well last year and he fit in really well so I'd like to play alongside him," he said.
"I think we've got probably 10 guys who can go through those six spots this year so it's going to be a fair bit of competition in the backline."
The 25-year-old said the Blues did not feel they had to change much heading into 2012 and had a good base to to work from.
"We think we identified the areas last year and improved on them in terms of our tackling and contested ball so I don't think we've got any gaping holes this year."
The squad also took a moment during training to raise a cheer for midfielder Andrew Carrazzo who with wife Yvette on Thursday welcomed triplets Grace, Charlotte and Sophia.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, carlton-3053, melbourne-3000, vic First posted January 13, 2012 12:16:18Thursday, January 12, 2012
Cousins to stay in hospital overnight
Former AFL star Ben Cousins will spend a third night in a Perth hospital after hitting his head while undergoing rehab at a specialist clinic.
The confessed drug addict is believed to have fallen and hit his head on a wash basin and the floor, suffering injuries to his head and neck.
The 33-year-old was taken on Monday to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.
A spokeswoman for the hospital says Cousins will remain there Wednesday night and his condition will be checked on Thursday morning.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, perth-6000 First posted January 11, 2012 21:12:39White clings to hope of playing football again
Three-time Brisbane Lions AFL premiership player Darryl White is awaiting a verdict on whether he will continue to be banned from playing football for life.
White has been playing for St Marys in the Northern Territory Football League but has been deregistered from all AFL affiliated competitions because he has breached a 15-game career suspension rule.
He was reported for striking another player during a recent NTFL game.
The 38-year-old fronted an appeal hearing in Darwin last night but says he must now wait up to 48 hours for the decision to be handed down.
"Hopefully, you know, everyone .... agrees that I am not that thug or not a threat to anyone, umpires, opposition players, supporters, opposition staff as well," he said.
"I am just really hopeful, crossing everything I've got at the moment over the next two days."
Under an AFL rule, players can be deregistered if they are suspended more than 15 times in their career.
White says he is anxious about what happens next.
"There were a few things they (the NTFL) didn't know," he said.
"They are ringing the powers that be to see if they are doing the right thing by the policy and by the rules."
Tags: australian-football-league, sports-organisations, people, darwin-0800, brisbane-4000, melbourne-3000 First posted January 12, 2012 12:10:54Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Griffen commits to Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs have re-signed midfield star Ryan Griffen until 2015.
Griffen, who was out of contract at the end of last season, said he had no qualms about extending his stay at the kennel.
"I am over the moon, as soon as it came up I wanted to sign straight away," the 25-year-old said.
"I love this place and I love the boys and it is fantastic that the club wanted to sign me."
The classy ball-winner has played 143 games for the Bulldogs since being selected third overall in the 2004 AFL draft.
He averaged 24 disposals last season and polled third in the club's best and fairest.
AAP
Tags: sport, australian-football-league, footscray-3011, vic, australia First posted January 11, 2012 12:04:40