Roos confirm Harvey broken thumb

Updated July 12, 2011 16:54:00

A broken thumb will most likely sideline North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey for Sunday's must-win match against Western Bulldogs.

It emerged on Tuesday that the Kangaroos' match record-holder had suffered the injury in Sunday's disastrous 117-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG.

The Kangaroos say Harvey will not need surgery, but admits he is in doubt for the fixture.

It is understood the half-forward will not be ready in time.

The injury is an untimely setback in a horror week for the Kangaroos, who suffered a major blow to their top-eight credentials with their embarrassing performance against the Magpies.

"(He) sustained the injury during an attempted tackle in the third quarter at the MCG," the Kangaroos said in a statement.

"Scans have revealed a bone fragment has been dislodged from his left thumb.

"Surgery will not be required at this stage.

"Harvey's progress will be monitored throughout the week."

The 33-year-old, a hugely-popular figure at Arden Street, broke the club games' record this season.

The four-time All Australian has played 316 matches for North since his 1996 debut.

Harvey only had 12 possessions and kicked two goals in Sunday's rout.

It was the second time this season Kangaroos figures had spoken pre-match about the need to take it up to the Magpies, only to offer very little resistance.

The Kangaroos fell to 12th, a game and a half outside the top eight.

By contrast, the Bulldogs have won their past four games to resurrect their season and are ninth, half a game behind Essendon.

Not surprisingly, North coach Brad Scott vented his frustration during the Monday match review.

"He (Scott) certainly put it on a few blokes who didn't do the things that he asked during the game," Kangaroos forward Drew Petrie said.

"His tone of voice did go up a little bit in yesterday's meeting which is what footy coaches do and players need to respond when that happens.

"Match review did go through a little longer than usual.

"We had a lot to look at to understand why we got beaten so badly."

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, north-melbourne-3051

First posted July 12, 2011 13:42:00

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History of Broken Hill - episode 21 - The Billy's Club

Brian Tonkin is the Archives Officer with the Broken Hill City Library and he took the listeners of 999 ABC on a tour of The Billy Club and talked about why this organisation meant so much to the people of the Silver City.

Officially known as the Alma Sporting Club, but always referred to as the Billy's Club, the organisation was established in the mid 1930's.

Sitting across the street from Gladstone Park on Boughtman Street, The Billy's Club played host to countless post match celebrations and weekend drinking sessions.

Edmund Thomas Lamb was the Secretary of the Gladstone Park Management Committee and spent more than 20 years as the president of the Billy's Sporting Club before passing away in the 1950's.

To honour Edmund's tireless work promoting and supporting football of all codes in South Broken Hill, Gladstone Park was rename the E.T. Lamb Memorial Oval.

Lamb himself would be pleased to know that people young and old still use the oval to play football to this very day.

The impressive Billy's Clubhouse was built in 1957 and thrived with high membership throughout the 60's and 70's.

The 80's brought with them difficult times for the club and it forced to close in 1989 and today the site plays host to the White House Convention Centre.

Brian Tonkin took the listeners of ABC Broken Hill on a tour of the Billy's Club as well as the Lamb Memorial Oval and showed us all why this is truly a fascinating part of the History of Broken Hill...

To listen to the rest of the episodes, click here

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Kevin Sheedy in Broken Hill - Giants 'may be' after Walker

Kevin Sheedy, the coach of new AFL outfit Greater Western Sydney, is in Broken Hill today encouraging support for his team and keeping an eye out for local talent.

On a trip that is taking in most of New South Wales and parts of the Northern Territory, Sheedy is spruiking his new club and connecting with junior and senior football leagues across the country.

He remained tight lipped about rumours his team are planning on making a bid for local talent, and current Crows player, Taylor Walker.

"Maybe our recruiting staff could be talking to his manager... but I would know more about that at the end of the season, on all the players off contract."

When it comes to players like Walker, Kevin is positive about The Giants' pulling power, saying "we've got a decent amount of money in our salary cap to go and find players off contract."

The west

Kevin Sheedy is hoping The Giants will be able to turn their large zone in regional New South Wales into a considerable support base of fans.

"Our zone really extends from the Homebush Olympic Stadium... and from there, right here to Broken Hill, down to Wentworth and right back to Eden and then goes up the coast of NSW to a little town called Berri.

"This first trip is about connecting with the people in our zone, particularly the junior footy league and the senior league here in Broken Hill."

Kevin says he's aware of the talent pool in Broken Hill and has had good fortune with local players in the past.

"Obviously I've had previous success with Dean Solomon out of Broken Hill; he was a marvellous player for the Bombers."

Wanting to distance his team from the struggling Gold Coast Suns who only had one year to recruit their squad, Kevin says The Giants still have plenty of time to make decisions regarding specific players.

Ultimately, he says, it is the sport of football itself that will be the big winner from new teams, such as Greater Western Sydney and the Gold Coast Suns, coming into the game.

"You know, having a new team come in in West Sydney, now that takes it up to about 800 contracts in AFL clubs and that's an amazing story in sport alone."

The Greater Western Sydney Giants will begin their first AFL preseason in February of 2012.

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Mundy cleared of broken leg

Posted June 13, 2011 19:33:00

Fremantle midfielder David Mundy will spend up to eight weeks on the sidelines despite being cleared of a broken leg.

And goalsneak Hayden Ballantyne is expected to miss two weeks after straining his hamstring in Sunday's 34-point win over Essendon.

It was initially feared Mundy had fractured his fibula, which could have ruled him out for the rest of the year.

But scans showed no crack to the bone, although the Dockers' 2010 best and fairest winner would have to wear a protective moon boot for up to three weeks due to a significant high-ankle sprain.

Mundy and Ballantyne join Adam McPhee, Aaron Sandilands, Nick Suban and Anthony Morabito as key players on the sidelines.

"I don't know what the old adage is, black cats and walking under ladders, but it has been unfortunate (with all the injuries we've suffered)," defender Paul Duffield said ahead of Sunday's clash with Melbourne at the MCG.

Mundy's absence could be offset by the return of fellow midfielder Michael Barlow, who is on track to resume his career against the Demons after making it through two hit-outs in the WAFL.

Barlow, who suffered a broken leg last year, tallied 33 possessions on Saturday for Peel Thunder.

Duffield said fans shouldn't expect Barlow to take up all of the slack left by Mundy, given his limited match practice.

"I think people understand that he's been through a fairly significant injury in the scheme of things, and we've seen players not come back to be the players they were previous to that," Duffield said.

"He's done a mountain of work. He's been super professional in the way he's handled everything and that's shown in the fact that he played so well in his second game back on the weekend after 12 months out.

"I don't think there should be any spectator pressure on Micky.

"He'll be clear on what his role is and he'll go out and do that to the best of his ability.

"I guess (Mundy's) our number one ball-winning midfielder, so it's probably a responsibility that'll come to myself and a couple of others to see if we can at least influence that area of the game and try and match the opposition in that area.

"Certainly, we had a range of players go through the midfield because of that on the weekend and I thought a lot of our guys contributed really well."

Defenders Roger Hayden and Alex Silvagni are also closing in on returns after successful comebacks in the WAFL.

The seventh-placed Dockers (6-5) had lost their past nine encounters at the MCG, but Duffield said the venue held no fear for the player group.

-AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, wa, fremantle-6160

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