Demons Davey, Sylvia hit by selection axe

Updated May 24, 2012 21:34:02

Melbourne dropped Aaron Davey again and Colin Sylvia also paid for his poor form as the Demons reacted to the new low in their disastrous season.

Cale Morton was the third omission, following last Saturday night's 101-point thrashing against Sydney.

That left the Demons languishing at the bottom of the ladder with no wins and no feasible prospects of an immediate recovery.

Liam Jurrah's ankle fracture meant Melbourne will make at least four changes for the Sunday clash against Carlton at the MCG.

Davey, also axed in round two, and Sylvia are two of the experienced Melbourne players who have come under increasing scrutiny for their mediocre form.

Sylvia also was caught on camera sharing a laugh with Sydney's Josh Kennedy last Saturday night after the final siren.

While the Blues are unbackable favourites, they have also made four changes after their shocker against Adelaide.

Apart from Marc Murphy (shoulder) and Nick Duigan (calf), they reacted to two-straight losses by dropping Jordan Russell and Bret Thornton.

Geelong defender Josh Hunt retained his senior berth for Friday night's big match against the Western Bulldogs, despite several moments in the loss to Collingwood he would rather forget.

The Cats regained key defender Matthew Scarlett and promoted utility Jonathan Simpkin for his AFL debut, but lost top midfielder James Kelly with a calf injury and dropped Billie Smedts.

Daniel Pearce will also play his first senior game as the Bulldogs regained Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney.

The Dogs have reorganised their attack, dropping key forwards Liam Jones and Jarrad Grant.

Clay Smith was also left out, while Dylan Addison is suspended.

Jordan Roughead and Patrick Veszpremi will return to the side.

Collingwood promoted Marley Williams and Jamie Elliott for their first games in the Saturday night clash against Adelaide.

They replace big names Dane Swan (hamstring) and Ben Reid (quad) as the Crows recalled Richard Douglas for Tom Lynch.

St Kilda regained James Gwilt from his extended absence after a knee reconstruction and also recalled Aaryn Siposs for Saturday night's clash against Sydney.

Rhys Stanley's hamstring injury adds to their lack of ruck options, but the Swans did not recall Shane Mumford and are unchanged.

St Kilda also left out Beau Wilkes.

Richmond regained Tyrone Vickery from a calf injury for the Saturday clash against Hawthorn, while gambling on Ben Griffiths as a key
defender following Dylan Grimes' hamstring injury.

The Tigers also dropped Brad Miller while the Hawks are unchanged.

Greater Western Sydney made six changes for Saturday night's match against Essendon, with Toby Greene's suspension the only forced change.

Rhys Palmer was among the axings as the Giants regained James McDonald and young stars Tomas Bugg, Curtly Hampton, Dylan Shiel, Devon Smith and Adam Kennedy.

Essendon utility Dyson Heppell (knee) will miss his first game since he debuted last year, while Dustin Fletcher (leg) and Leroy Jetta (suspension) are also out of the side.

The Bombers regained Mark McVeigh, Tayte Pears and Travis Colyer.

Gold Coast and Port Adelaide made one change apiece for their Saturday match.

The Suns rested Luke Russell for Luke Magin and the Power brought in Daniel Stewart for John Butcher (hip).

North Melbourne and Brisbane both named extended squads with Aaron Edwards and Sam Wright the big inclusions for the Roos and Aaron Cornelius for the Lions.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, carlton-3053

First posted May 24, 2012 19:36:51

View the original article here

Demons ban, fine wayward Sylvia

Updated October 28, 2011 18:34:56

Melbourne has suspended wayward star Colin Sylvia, fined him $5,000 and ordered him to undergo alcohol counselling after he left the scene of a car accident on Sunday.

Sylvia will miss next year's round one clash with Brisbane after the Demons found he had exercised "poor judgment" in drinking the night before training with the Australian International Rules side, failing to report an accident, in which he was a passenger in his own car, and leaving the scene.

The club said previous alcohol-fuelled indiscretions had also been taken into account in meting out the punishment.

It also considered the fact Sylvia had already been dropped from the International Rules side playing a two-match series against Ireland.

"Firstly, the club confirmed to Colin that drinking the night prior to training and going into camp with the Australian IRS team is not acceptable for a professional footballer representing the Melbourne Football Club," a statement said.

"Secondly, Colin breached club protocols that have been clearly articulated to our playing group by not immediately making the club aware of the fact that he had been involved in an incident, in this case a serious accident that resulted in significant property damage.

"He did not contact the club for a number of hours later, by which time the club had already been contacted by police investigating the accident.

"Finally, Colin showed poor judgement by leaving the scene of the accident and not dealing with the matter in a manner expected of an experienced AFL player."

The drama was a first test for new Demons coach Mark Neeld, who has made a statement in coming down hard on Sylvia, who was warned previously by the team's leadership group after a night out in March.

AAP

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

First posted October 28, 2011 18:34:56

View the original article here