Swans' Longmire wins coaches award

Updated September 25, 2012 21:33:27

Sydney may not have had Brownlow Medal success, but the Swans have had an early grand final week win with coach John Longmire picking up the AFL Coaches Association award for coach of the year.

Longmire won the peer award, the Allan Jeans senior coach of the year award, in only his second year as a senior coach.

He received the award - named after the famous St Kilda and Hawthorn coach who died last year - on Tuesday night, four days before the Swans' appointment at the MCG for the grand final against Hawthorn.

Longmire took over in Sydney from premiership coach Paul Roos for the 2011 season. His team finished seventh and lost to Hawthorn in an elimination final.

Entering 2012, the Swans were not tipped by many pundits to challenge strongly for the flag, but the Sydneysiders had a roaring start to the year, going undefeated until round six when they lost a tight game to Adelaide.

Sydney was 8-3 at the half-way mark, and finished the home and away season with 16 wins, good enough for third spot on the ladder.

The Swans then smashed their two hoodoo sides, Adelaide and Collingwood, in the finals to earn a spot in the club's first grand final since 2006.

But it was the game style, as much as the results, that brought plaudits for Longmire's coaching.

He maintained the core of the hard-running, hard-tackling, defensive-minded style that had been the hallmark of the Swans under Roos, and added an extra attacking dimension.

Longmire introduced a more expansive style of play to make use of the blazing speed of Lewis Jetta and others, and used a range of scoring options from Sam Reid and Adam Goodes to converted defender Lewis Roberts-Thomson and midfielders Kieren Jack and Ben McGlynn.

In other awards announced at the AFLCA ceremony, Richmond's Brownlow Award place-getter Trent Cotchin (107 votes) won the player of the year award by eight votes from Collingwood's Dayne Beams (99), with Gold Coast's Gary Ablett and Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield (92) in equal third.

Essendon captain and Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson came sixth with 89 votes.

Hawthorn and Carlton premiership coach David Parkin was named the fourth "Coaching Legend", following Hawthorn premiership coach John Kennedy senior (2009), Melbourne and North Melbourne premiership coach Ron Barassi (2010) and Richmond premiership coach Tom Hafey (2011).

The best young player award went to Essendon's Dyson Heppell, ahead of West Coast duo Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff.

Fremantle's Peter Sumich won the assistant coach of the year award and Collingwood's Craig McRae took out the development coach of the year award.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, sydney-2000, nsw, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted September 25, 2012 21:33:27

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AFL to honour Stynes with community award

Updated May 16, 2012 16:50:28

The AFL will award each season's most community-focused player with a new inaugural trophy named after late Melbourne champion Jim Stynes.

Stynes played 264 games for the Demons before serving as their president from 2008 until he passed away in March after a long battle with cancer.

Alongside Stynes' widow Sam, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou announced the new award on Wednesday in conjunction with the Reach Foundation, Stynes' youth wellbeing charity.

"We are all indebted to Jim Stynes' memory and will forever be inspired by his contribution to Australian life that is matched by few in the history of the game," Demetriou said in a statement.

"This award is a joint initiative of the AFL and Reach and will recognise those AFL players that make outstanding contributions to the community and display the same values that accompanied Jim throughout his remarkable life.

"This award is a fitting tribute to Jim's boundless commitment to the broader community such as establishing the Reach Foundation and supporting numerous community initiatives during and after his playing career.

"Jim's achievements with Reach and countless other projects throughout the community have provided an extraordinary legacy that will continue to touch the lives of so many people."

The award will be presented on Brownlow Medal night with Sam Stynes, Demetriou, an AFL commissioner, a Reach representative on a selection panel to determine the inaugural winner.

Clubs will nominate candidates before the end of the season.

"This award is a wonderful tribute to Jim and a great way for Jim's legacy to live on," Stynes' successor and Demons president Don McLardy said in a statement.

"His contribution to the Melbourne Football Club and the broader community has been immeasurable.

"I know all Melbourne Football Club supporters will be immensely proud that an award of this significance has been created in Jim's honour."

The Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award will sit alongside the Jim Stynes Medal for the best Australian player in Australia v Ireland International Rules matches.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted May 16, 2012 16:50:28

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Conca wins award a day early

Posted May 23, 2011 18:27:00

The AFL has announced Richmond midfielder Reece Conca as its Rising Star nomination, a day earlier than planned after Tigers team-mate Jack Riewoldt broke the news via Twitter.

Conca won the round nine nomination, which is normally made the Tuesday after the weekend's round.

But Riewoldt let the cat out of the bag with a Twitter message earlier on Monday confirming Conca had won the award.

The 18-year-old has played every match this season for the resurgent Tigers, and was among his side's best in the win over Essendon at the MCG last weekend.

Conca gathered 23 possessions, took eight marks and laid three tackles in the 16-point victory in front of more than 80,000 people.

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, richmond-2753

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