Saints moving towards NZ Anzac clash

Updated May 25, 2012 17:17:46

St Kilda coach Scott Watters has thrown his support behind his club's bold plan to play an Anzac Day match in New Zealand as soon as next year.

The Saints have confirmed they are closing in on a deal to take a home-and-away match to Wellington.

If the plan became reality, it would be the first AFL match played overseas for competition points.

The match would be played at Westpac Stadium, the 36,000-capacity home of A-League soccer club Wellington Phoenix and Super Rugby's Hurricanes.

The venue has also been successfully used for Rugby World Cup matches and rugby league Tests.

Watters said Saints players were excited about the prospect of taking AFL overseas, and officials at the club viewed the New Zealand experiment as important for the Saints' future.

"It certainly looks really positive at the moment - there are negotiations taking place and everything's moving towards a really positive outcome," Watters said.

"It would be another strong pillar on which this club can build from. There's a lot of work being put into taking this club to another level and New Zealand is a key cornerstone of that.

"What it can actually deliver this club on a number of levels could actually relaunch this club into becoming the powerful club it needs to be."

Watters said he was not fazed with the extra travel which would be involved in an already tightly-packed home-and-away schedule.

"I played most of my footy at West Coast where I travelled every second week, and we delivered some fantastic results on the back of that," Watters said of his part in the successful Eagles teams of the early 1990s.

"I'm not intimidated or scared of travelling. International teams in international competitions don't see travelling as a negative."

The AFL would have to approve the deal, and the venue for the match, before it could go ahead.

But Westpac Stadium has already successfully hosted AFL exhibition matches, the last a preseason clash between Brisbane and Adelaide in 2001.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-5110, new-zealand

First posted May 25, 2012 14:53:42

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Jolly ready for Anzac Day: Shaw

Updated April 24, 2011 12:41:00

Collingwood received a boost to its plans to counter Essendon's trio of ruckmen with its number one Darren Jolly set to play in the Anzac Day AFL clash.

Jolly has overcome a knee injury which sidelined him for last week's win over Richmond, and has been named in the Magpies side.

His role will be vital, with the Bombers selecting David Hille, Paddy Ryder and Tom Bellchambers in a three-pronged ruck attack for the MCG clash.

Collingwood defender Heath Shaw said Jolly was ready to go and was up to the challenge of battling the Bombers' talls.

"He had last week off because his knee was a little bit sore but he's ready to go," Shaw said on Sunday.

"It's going to be a big challenge for him. He's going to have three guys to come up against, all different types of ruckmen.

"I think Jolls is up to the challenge."

Collingwood has also included livewire small forward Brad Dick at the expense of Andrew Krakouer.

A crowd of more than 90,000 is expected for the match.

- AAP

First posted April 24, 2011 12:09:00

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ANZAC Day SANFL blockbuster

Centrals meet Norwood in a Grand Final replay on ANZAC Day

A big crowd is expected at the Adelaide Oval on Monday when Central Districts meet Norwood in Round 4 of the SANFL.

As is tradition the ANZAC Day clash will be a replay of the Grand Final, a match which saw the Dogs sneak home to claim their 9th flag since 2000.

The Redlegs were the feel good story of last season, recovering from a poor start to give rookie coach Nathan Bassett a season to remember.

But all that is now history and the new season offers new challenges.

For Centrals one of those challenges is to replenish the club after some key retirements and a flagging membership.

It is a challenge coach Roy laird will meet head on, and in the build up to ANZAC day he spoke with Roger Wills about how the club is travelling.

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Malthouse breaks ranks on Anzac Day

Posted April 20, 2011 20:00:00

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse has broken ranks on the thorny issue of whether the AFL Anzac Day blockbuster should be shared among clubs.

While league chief executive Andrew Demetriou wants the Magpies and Essendon to continue the tradition they started in 1995, Malthouse admits he has become uneasy about the hugely-successful annual fixture.

The clash attracts a capacity MCG crowd and has become the league's biggest match outside the finals.

But Malthouse notes the success of the match has as much to do with the occasion as the big followings that Collingwood and Essendon bring to the match.

The playing of the Last Post and the minute's silence in honour of Anzac Day make the build-up to the opening bounce one of the great spectacles in Australian sport.

"I feel very privileged, but I feel a bit selfish at times," Malthouse said after training on Wednesday.

"I wonder what it's like for other clubs who are looking in, going 'we've got every right to be part of it as well, why aren't we?'

"So that bites into me a little bit.

"Is it a right, or do we treat it as a privilege? Certainly in my eyes, it's a great honour and privilege to do it."

His comments came after a suggestion from former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, who helped start this Anzac Day tradition, for games in every state on the day.

Malthouse is in his last year as Collingwood coach, but denied he was making the comments because he will not have the role next year.

He also readily acknowledged Magpies president Eddie McGuire will disagree with him.

The two clubs have fiercely opposed calls from other clubs to share the MCG fixture on Anzac Day.

Malthouse theatrically looked behind him during his media conference in the Collingwood boardroom, as if he was fearful that McGuire might be listening.

"It's probably now I've only had the intestinal fortitude to come out and say ... is there a photograph of Eddie in here anywhere?," Malthouse said

"He's probably looking over my shoulder, probably stabbing me somewhere."

But Demetriou has no such doubts about the future of the blockbuster.

"I know it gets up people's noses, but hopefully Collingwood and Essendon are playing it long into the future," he told the Ten Network.

As for the game itself on Monday, Malthouse said ruckman Darren Jolly was a good chance to return from the knee injury that sidelined him last weekend.

This year's Anzac Day blockbuster will also be a rare instance where the form of the two teams will come close to matching the occasion itself.

Collingwood, the reigning premiers, are unbeaten after four rounds and Essendon have shown great improvement to hold sixth spot.

"I can be super-critical of our player group, we're sitting on top of the ladder with (187) per cent and we've had moments where we've been ordinary," Malthouse said.

"But we're human ... if we play to our best (of) what we've done in the last four weeks, then we'll win.

"If we play to our worst, we won't - if we play somewhere in the middle, it's going to be a very good game."

- AAP

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Dawes to miss Anzac Day clash

Published:Monday, April 18, 2011 8:21 AESTExpires:Sunday, July 17, 2011 8:21 AEST

Magpies forward Chris Dawes has been suspended for one match for striking Richmond's Reece Conca and will miss his side's match against Essendon.

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