Magpies deal Dawes to Demons

Updated October 16, 2012 20:43:33

Collingwood's Chris Dawes will play in a Melbourne jumper next season after the Magpies agreed to trade the premiership forward for a handful of draft picks.

The Demons will send picks 20, 45 and 58 to Gosch's Paddock in exchange for the 24-year-old, who has 71 games including the 2010 grand final under his belt.

Dawes will be reunited with Melbourne coach Mark Neeld, who was serving as an assistant under Mick Malthouse during the Magpies' 2010 campaign.

The tall forward, listed at 193cm and 105kg, played 23 games and kicked 16 goals last season for Collingwood, his last appearance coming in the preliminary final against eventual premier Sydney.

"Chris can be proud of his contribution to Collingwood," director of football Geoff Walsh said in a statement.

"He played some good football for the club, where he has been a popular figure, and shared in the 2010 premiership.

"In his time with us, Chris always gave what he had and for that we thank him. We wish him well."

The deal is expected to be confirmed by the AFL on Wednesday.

It is the third move the Magpies have made during the free agency/trade period, after picking up former West Coast forward Quinten Lynch and sending midfielder Sharrod Wellingham west to the Eagles in a separate deal.

If the in-principle agreement involving Dawes is given the green light, Collingwood will hold picks 17, 18 and 20 in the first round of next month's national draft.

The club has not had such a strong seat in the first round since defenders Ben Reid and Nathan Brown were taken at eight and 10 respectively in 2006.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, collingwood-3066, vic, australia

First posted October 16, 2012 20:33:04

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Dawes wants to be a Demon

Updated October 12, 2012 17:20:50

Collingwood premiership forward Chris Dawes wants to be traded to Melbourne.

The Demons had been among several clubs, also including the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane and Carlton, vying to attract the 24-year-old.

Dawes' manager Ben Niall said on Friday the 71-gamer had settled on Melbourne as his preferred destination.

Dawes' relationship with Demons coach Mark Neeld, a former Collingwood assistant, was a factor.

"If you go somewhere where you know your boss a bit better obviously you feel more comfortable," Niall told the AFL website, adding the idea of playing a key role at a rebuilding club also appealed.

"He came into Collingwood which already had a terrific culture in place. Now he can go into a club and be responsible for building a culture and standards, that really appealed to Chris."

The Demons now need to come up with a trade to satisfy the Magpies, where Dawes remains under contract.

Official paperwork has not been lodged with the AFL as of 5pm AEDT Friday evening.

AAP

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

First posted October 12, 2012 17:15:41

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Dawes in, Didak likely out for Magpies

Updated September 19, 2012 12:17:54

Collingwood half-forward Alan Didak seems certain to miss Friday's preliminary final with Sydney, but Chris Dawes is set to take his place in the side.

Didak, who injured his calf in Saturday night's qualifying final win over West Coast, failed to appear at the Magpies' training session on Wednesday.

He and key forward Dawes, who is battling a knee medial ligament injury, were expected to push their selection claims today ahead of the Olympic stadium clash.

In front of hundreds of fans, Dawes was able to run and kick in a dramatic improvement on his showing in Tuesday's recovery session, to bolster his chances.

Before the session, Magpies director of coaching Rodney Eade had expressed confidence that both Didak and Dawes could prove their fitness.

"Obviously they'll be sent through a program that the medical staff are going to set for them," Eade said.

"It will be mainly some straight lines and some running, giving them as much chance as possible to get up for Friday.

"The word before training is that the medical staff are reasonably confident but only time will tell."

Despite Dawes limping noticeably on Tuesday, Eade said it had been expected he could improve quickly.

"There's a little bit of a strain there, but with the impact too he had a bit of bone bruising," Eade said.

"So there's a bit of pain there, I think that probably causes the limp.

"We think that will subside relatively quickly and also it's just a management issue from Chris to be able to cope with that."

Eade said Didak was still feeling discomfort in his calf, after receiving a knock in Saturday night's match then being subbed off after experiencing calf tightness.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, collingwood-3066

First posted September 19, 2012 12:17:54

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Magpies recall Dawes to face Hawks

Updated September 06, 2012 19:48:38

Collingwood has punted on out-of-form key forward Chris Dawes bouncing back from last week's axing to help the Magpies upset Hawthorn in Friday night's qualifying final.

Dawes has been recalled for the Hawks clash at the MCG, despite fellow tall target Travis Cloke revelling in his absence with 16 marks and five goals against Essendon last Saturday night.

But the Magpies struggled to find adequate support for number one ruckman Darren Jolly against the Bombers, a role Dawes has filled for most of the year.

The Magpies were forced to leave out Tyson Goldsack (ankle), meaning young key forward Jackson Paine, who replaced Dawes last round, kept his spot.

They also regained small forward Jarryd Blair from a groin injury, at the expense of Jamie Elliott.

The Hawks were forced into two changes, a corked calf meaning classy running player Clinton Young will be sidelined, along with Brent Guerra, who is expected to miss the rest of the finals series with a hamstring injury.

Xavier Ellis was recalled after a one-match absence, while Tom Murphy will make his first AFL appearance since round 17 and just his fifth of the season.

Adelaide has been boosted by the return of star forward Taylor Walker and midfielder Bernie Vince from minor injuries for Saturday's Football Park qualifying final against Sydney.

They replaced Tom Lynch and Matt Jaensch.

The Swans also have some significant inclusions, with key forward Sam Reid and reliable small defender Nick Smith returning from injury.

But key backman Heath Grundy is out suspended, while Tony Armstrong was dropped.

Fremantle has called up Alex Silvagni to replace Luke McPharlin (hamstring) for the likely job on Geelong star forward Tom Hawkins in Saturday night's elimination final at the MCG.

The Dockers also added Kepler Bradley and Matt De Boer, at the expense of Jonathon Griffin and Tom Sheridan.

The Cats' only change was the loss of midfield-forward star Steve Johnson, with Jonathan Simpkin included to play just his fourth senior match.

Premiership forward Travis Varcoe is still sidelined by a foot injury.

North Melbourne has welcomed back midfield speedster Daniel Wells and tall defender Nathan Grima from injury for Sunday's elimination final against West Coast at Subiaco Oval, with no omissions yet from its 25-man squad.

The Eagles' have key defender Eric Mackenzie and tall forward Quinten Lynch among their squad inclusions, with backman Mitch Brown dropped.

Key forward Josh Kennedy kept his spot despite a minor ankle injury.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, collingwood-3066

First posted September 06, 2012 19:44:07

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Magpie Dawes backs Davis' decision

Updated November 23, 2011 09:21:06

Collingwood key forward Chris Dawes would have felt uncomfortable trying to talk Leon Davis into staying at the AFL club.

While Dawes is disappointed that the two-time All Australian has left the club, he and team-mate Scott Pendlebury said on Tuesday they understood why Davis made the decision.

Davis wants to return to WA for family reasons, but his partner is from Adelaide and he has also spoken to Port Adelaide about his football future.

"I don't think that's really our place to - he has to make that decision for himself," Dawes said when asked if he had tried to talk Davis out of leaving the Magpies.

"There would have been no doubt in his mind how much his team-mates care about him.

"It was a surprise and probably disappointing for me because I really enjoy his company and he's a valuable team-mate.

"But that said, I can completely understand why it's been that way."

It has been a tumultuous few weeks at Collingwood since it lost the grand final to Geelong.

Nathan Buckley has replaced Mick Malthouse as senior coach under the Magpies' succession plan, with Malthouse also leaving the club altogether.

There have been several other changes to the coaching staff and Brad Dick has joined Davis in leaving the club.

Pendlebury returned to preseason training on Monday, having had an extended holiday in Mexico and the United States.

"Last year was a lot of celebration (after the premiership), this year it was get out of town as quick as you can and get away and relax," Pendlebury said.

"But we can't get it back, we've got to move on, we don't want to be stewing over the loss."

Pendlebury is looking forward to working with new midfield coach Robert Harvey, one of the AFL's finest modern onballers.

"Even in the twilight of his career, he was a brilliant player and it's going to be ... a great opportunity to seek him out and find out what made him tick," Pendlebury said.

Dawes is yet to return to full training, having had ankle surgery after the grand final.

The key forward spoke on Tuesday of his frustration late in the season as he struggled for form after recovering from a hand injury.

"I probably didn't realise how tough it would be to overcome," Dawes said.

"I was pretty terrible, especially for the first few weeks I was back.

"It was disappointing and I didn't realise how hard it would be from a physical point of view, but also just emotionally.

"It hit me at the end of the year how much I'd invested in it and how exhausted I really was come the end of the year."

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, collingwood-3066, vic, australia

First posted November 15, 2011 20:59:27

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Magpies boast cover for Dawes

Posted July 6, 2011 17:14:00

Collingwood's formidable depth of talent means the AFL premier has a ready-made solution for the loss of key forward Chris Dawes.

While Dawes will be missed as he takes a month to recover from hand surgery, Chris Tarrant can move from defence to fill the gap.

Tarrant's switch would then clear the way for 21-year-old Queenslander Lachlan Keeffe to finally make his senior debut, playing as a key defender.

"If he got his chance, he'd definitely be ready - he's been an emergency a fair few times this year and been playing good VFL footy," defender Alan Toovey said of Keeffe.

"So he's one of the guys that if a defender went forward, he'd be looked at."

Toovey admits to mixed feelings if Tarrant does change roles.

Tarrant originally made his name as a key forward with the Magpies, but has been a revelation over the past few seasons as a backman.

"He (Tarrant) kicked a few goals earlier in the season and he looked pretty pumped. He did get excited," Toovey said.

"But the way he's been playing down back, I hope he wouldn't go up there. It's been good playing next to him down deep in defence."

Keeffe would slot into a defence which remains arguably the best in the league.

While Nathan Brown is out for the season and Simon Prestigiacomo has retired, if anything, the defence has improved with the additions of Tarrant and Leon Davis and Ben Reid's ongoing development.

Geelong's upset loss to Essendon means the Cats only remain four points clear of Collingwood by virtue of having had one less bye.

The Magpies' premiership defence has so far been near-perfect and Toovey said the mood at the club is buoyant, but realistic.

"At the moment, we're travelling probably as well or maybe even better than last year," he said.

"We know we're good enough to win premierships and win finals and play in big games all the time - having that behind us is just a little bit extra.

"The mood in the group, everyone is excited. Everyone is not focusing on finals yet, but we're working on all the little bits (where) we can improve so when finals do come, we're definitely cherry ripe."

Collingwood plays North Melbourne on Sunday and, while the Magpies will start firm favourites, Toovey said the Essendon win over Geelong shows no side should be taken lightly.

"We want to ensure we don't slip up (in) a game like this weekend against North. They're a good young team," he said.

-AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, collingwood-3066

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Injured hand dampens Dawes' season

Published:Monday, July 4, 2011 7:20 AESTExpires:Sunday, October 2, 2011 7:20 AEST

Collingwood player Chris Dawes will be sidelined for more than a month after injuring his hand during the Magpies win over the Hawks.

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Tribunal clears Magpies' Dawes to play

Published:Tuesday, April 19, 2011 8:32 AESTExpires:Monday, July 18, 2011 8:32 AEST

Collingwood key forward Chris Dawes will play in the Anzac Day match against Essendon after being cleared of a striking charge in the AFL.

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Magpies' Dawes clear for AFL blockbuster

Updated April 19, 2011 19:20:00

Collingwood key forward Chris Dawes will play in Monday's Anzac Day AFL clash against Essendon, after beating a a striking charge.

The 22-year-old won the right to play in the blockbuster match, when he convinced the tribunal on Tuesday night that his contact to the head of Richmond's Reece Conca in last Friday night's MCG clash was an accident.

Meanwhile, Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich had his charge of striking North Melbourne's Liam Anthony downgraded from reckless to negligent, although a reduction for a previous clean record meant Pavlich was never in danger of suspension anyway.

With a reduction for his previous clean record, it meant he picked up only 45 demerit points, rather than 70.31, and remained eligible for the Brownlow Medal.

The only other charge laid was against Sydney's Nick Smith, who agreed to pay a $900 fine for making contact with an umpire.

The jury took less than five minutes to make their decision on Dawes, after seeing footage of the incident and hearing the forward's explanation.

It is a significant win for the reigning premiers, who are unbeaten after four matches and on top of the ladder.

Premiership forward Dawes has kicked 11 goals in those four games, second only to fellow tall target Travis Cloke (12 goals) on Collingwood's scorers' list.

Dawes was charged with making contact with his left arm to Conca's head, after arriving late at a ground-level contest for the ball.

The solidly-built forward swayed the jury with his argument that after sliding towards Conca on his knees and throwing out his arm in attempt to stop the Tiger from pushing the ball out, he was powerless to stop the collision.

"There's no other way it could happen, because I'm a 105kg man sliding forward on my knees," Dawes told the tribunal.

"I can't pull my arm back because it's coming forward with my momentum."

Tribunal counsel Jeff Gleeson SC agreed that it was not an intentional act, but argued that it was "clumsy" and that Dawes had been negligent in his duty of care towards Conca.

But Dawes said he had always been confident.

"It was very much accidental, which I think it didn't take long to discuss that in there, so it was pleasing to get through that," he said.

"I'm looking forward to (Anzac Day), it's always a big day, so it's really exciting."

Dawes has played in the traditional clash only once previously, kicking two goals in a 65-point win over the Bombers last season.

The tribunal success swings the odds even further in favour of Collingwood, who are also confident of regaining their number one ruckman Darren Jolly, who missed the Tigers clash with a knee injury.

That is in contrast to the Bombers, who have lost Courtenay Dempsey and Jason Winderlich to long-term knee injuries sustained in Saturday's draw against Carlton.

- AAP

First posted April 19, 2011 19:15:00

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Pies to contest Dawes charge

Updated April 19, 2011 12:21:00

Collingwood has confirmed it will challenge forward Chris Dawes' striking charge at the AFL Tribunal this evening.

Dawes will miss the Anzac Day game against Essendon at the MCG if the Magpies are unsuccessful.

Fremantle will also attempt to overturn a striking charge against captain Matthew Pavlich.

Pavlich is free to play in the Anzac Day night match against the Western Bulldogs in Perth, as his five-year good record has reduced the penalty to a reprimand.

If Pavlich wins the appeal he will still be eligible to win the Brownlow medal.

The Tribunal sits at 7.30pm.

First posted April 19, 2011 12:14:00

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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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Dawes staring at ANZAC Day ban

Updated April 18, 2011 16:28:00

Collingwood forward Chris Dawes looks likely to be suspended from the ANZAC Day clash with Essendon at the MCG.

Dawes has been given a one-match suspension by the match review panel for striking Richmond youngster Reece Conca and cannot reduce his ban with an early guilty plea.

But Magpies ruck-forward Leigh Brown's match-day report for striking Conca in a later incident was thrown out.

Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich can accept a reprimand for striking, while Sydney defender Nick Smith has been fined for $900 for negligent umpire contact.

Meanwhile Collingwood forward Travis Cloke says the Bombers are likely to provide stiff opposition in the ANZAC Day clash.

"[I've] watched a little bit of them, obviously we played them in the NAB Cup grand final," he said.

"They look very impressive on and off paper and a lot of their boys that played in the VFL look very impressive as well and they'll be pushing for selection at the same time.

"It's going to be a fantastic game ANZAC Day, always is, no matter where the two teams are placed and it's going to be a fantastic spectacle for all football lovers."

- ABC/AAP

First posted April 18, 2011 16:02:00

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