Tippett to leave Crows

Updated October 02, 2012 10:58:45

Adelaide Crows have confirmed they will be without Kurt Tippett next season after the key forward requested a trade to another club.

Tippett and the Crows put contract negotiations on hold until the end of the season, and Tippett's management informed Adelaide on Tuesday morning they would not be accepting the club's offer.

List manager David Noble said the Crows, who made this season's preliminary finals, did everything they could to keep Tippett at the club.

"We believe that our club has provided Kurt with an outstanding learning environment after drafting him as an extremely inexperienced 18-year old in 2006," he said.

"On top of this we have always put Kurt's best interests at the forefront as well as remunerating him at the top end of our player payments scale.

"The club has now reassessed the current list and will continue its strategy to make sure the team's needs are met so the improved performances of 2012 continue."

As Tippett has not served eight-plus years with the Crows, he is not a free agent and can only join another club through a trade under the AFL's new free agency system.

The Queensland-born 25-year-old is tipped to return to his home state with either the Gold Coast Suns or Brisbane Lions.

However, Collingwood and even premier Sydney are in the race to capture the talented forward's services.

Tippett played 104 games for the Crows after being drafted with pick 32 of the 2006 Draft.

He made his debut in 2008 and went on to kick 188 goals for Adelaide.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia, carrara-4211, qld, brisbane-4000

First posted October 02, 2012 10:38:18

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Hawks leave out Murphy for Hodge

Updated September 27, 2012 20:20:49

Hawthorn has dropped Tom Murphy to make way for returning captain Luke Hodge for Saturday's grand final against Sydney.

Murphy's omission was a mere formality after Hodge proved his fitness this week, having missed last Saturday's preliminary final against Adelaide after falling ill with gastroenteritis.

It was the only change made to both grand final teams for the MCG encounter, with the Swans sticking with the same 22 that comfortably downed Collingwood in last Friday night's preliminary final.

Hodge's recovery was confirmed early this week and Murphy, who was the late replacement for the preliminary final, always loomed as the player facing the axe.

"There's always unlucky people at grand final time," Hawthorn coaching director Chris Fagan said earlier on Thursday.

"The strength of the team this year's been our squad, and it's not just the bloke who misses out but the other six or seven players who have trained on - it'll be terribly disappointing for them too.

"But they've helped us get there and been an important part of what we've done."

Murphy has played just six senior matches this season, but they included both of the Hawks' previous two finals.

He made 18 senior appearances in 2008 but was dropped for the preliminary final and could not regain his spot in the side that beat Geelong in the grand final.

It was confirmed earlier this week that the Swans' Ben McGlynn and the Hawks' Brent Guerra had lost their race against time to recover from hamstring injuries.

With forecast wild weather for Saturday in Melbourne, there is still the chance that either side might make a late change.

The Hawks' side includes 10 players who were part of their 2008 grand final win, while Shaun Burgoyne, who played in grand finals with Port Adelaide in 2004 and 2007, is also chasing a second flag.

The Swans' team includes just four veterans of their 2005 premiership - Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton, Ryan O'Keefe and Lewis Roberts-Thomson.

The line-ups:

Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Benjamin Stratton

Martin Mattner, Ted Richards, Rhyce Shaw

Matt Suckling, Ryan Schoenmakers, Shaun Burgoyne

Nicholas Smith, Heath Grundy, Alex Johnson

Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Xavier Ellis

Daniel Hannebery, Kieren Jack, Lewis Jetta

Jack Gunston, Lance Franklin, Isaac Smith

Ryan O'Keefe, Sam Reid, Craig Bird

Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust

Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Adam Goodes, Jarrad McVeigh

David Hale, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell

Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Jude Bolton

Interchange: Clinton Young, Liam Shiels, Shane Savage, Paul Puopolo

Emergencies: Tom Murphy, Max Bailey, Kyle Cheney

Interchange: Nick Malceski, Mike Pyke, Luke Parker, Mitch Morton

Emergencies: Tommy Walsh, Tony Armstrong, Trent Dennis-Lane

AAP/ABC

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, hawthorn-3122, sydney-2000

First posted September 27, 2012 18:19:26

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Demons grant Jurrah personal leave

Updated March 05, 2012 20:37:51

Livewire Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah has returned to central Australia after his AFL club gave him time off for personal reasons.

The 23-year-old is expected to return to the Demons soon, but there is no timeframe on his leave.

Jurrah is an elder of the Warlpiri people, who are based about 300km north-west of Alice Springs in the small indigenous community of Yuendumu.

Nicknamed the Warlpiri Wizard, Jurrah is the first player from remote central Australia be drafted to the AFL.

"Jurrah has been granted personal leave to return home to support his family and community through a challenging period," the Demons said in a statement.

"The club is totally understanding and supportive of Liam and is in close communication with him.

"Liam has had an interrupted pre-season following wrist surgery.

"He will continue his rehabilitation and training program upon his return to Melbourne."

New Demons coach Mark Neeld said last week that Jurrah would probably be out of action until at least round one of the regular season as he recovers from the surgery.

It is so far unclear whether the return to central Australia will further delay his playing return.

"He's going to have to come back through the VFL so that is where he is at," Neeld said last week.

"We know he has had complications with his wrist.

"It lasted four weeks in a cast and didn't heal (so) he had to have an operation and he can't join in full training."

Neeld had also said there was no long-term concern about Jurrah.

"Unfortunately, we had to go back and have a second go at it," he said.

"It's not a concern, but no one wants their players to be injured."

Jurrah was Melbourne's leading goalkicker last season, with 40 from 18 games.

He has kicked 81 goals in 35 games since making his senior debut three years ago.

Jurrah is an exceptional mark and has great pace, but the defensive side of his game has come in for criticism at times.

AAP

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

First posted March 05, 2012 19:52:14

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Magpies release Krakouer on personal leave

Updated February 10, 2012 18:17:20

Collingwood has granted Andrew Krakouer a four-week leave of absence to deal with personal issues.

"The issues that Andrew is dealing with are of a personal nature, and we will be supporting him in every way possible during this period," Collingwood director of football Geoff Walsh said in a statement.

"Andrew is held in high regard at Collingwood and we look forward to his return to team training in due course."

The Magpies said Krakouer would be given a revised training program during the month away from normal training sessions.

Krakouer had an outstanding first season back in the AFL in 2011 after serving a jail sentence.

The exciting 28-year-old was a livewire in the Collingwood forward line last year, but is now unlikely to be playing a substantial part for the Magpies until well into the season.

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

First posted February 10, 2012 18:02:42

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Dogs leave Crows in the mire

By James Maasdorp

Updated June 17, 2011 22:44:00

The Western Bulldogs continued Adelaide's wretched run of form, breaking their own four-match losing streak with a 30-point win at Docklands on Friday night.

Daniel Giansiracusa (four goals) and Justin Sherman (three) linked up to produce a third-quarter purple patch up front, ensuring a 14.16 (100) to 10.10 (70) win that keeps the Bulldogs' fanciful hopes of a top-eight finish alive.

The result heaps even more pressure on Adelaide coach Neil Craig, as the club counts the cost of a fifth consecutive loss and a losing streak in Melbourne that stretches back to 2009.

The Crows enjoyed a fantastic first term in which some of their season's best footy was on display, racing to to a 6.2 (38) to 2.4 (16) lead thanks to Kurt Tippett's two goal flash.

But the Bulldogs clawed their way back in the second quarter through Giansiracusa and Sherman, before the two combined again in the third term to score three goals in as many minutes to forge an 11-point lead.

The Dogs looked untroubled for the rest of the match with the Crows looking to have run out of gas from its first-half efforts.

The Bulldogs kicked four goals to Adelaide's one in the final period to cap Robert Murphy's 200th AFL appearance with a win.

Murphy, who gobbled up six marks and 26 disposals, lauded his side's response to the Crow's first-quarter showing.

But he warned the hard work starts now if the Dogs are to rescue their season.

"It is a relief, everyone knows we've been under the pump and we haven't been playing great footy at all," he told Grandstand.

"To start off the way we did was also a worry, so for the guys to turn that around was really pleasing and by the end of the game we were running away with it.

"The position we've got ourselves into with our poor form, we really can't look too far ahead, we certainly don't have that luxury at the moment.

"Tonight was do-or-die. We'll assess it during the week and hopefully we can get on a roll - that's the aim, to start winning games, get a few guys back healthy and challenge the better sides because for the early part of the year we weren't able to do that."

Adelaide's Chris Knights had been subbed off during the half-time break with reported concussion and replaced by substitute Chris Schmidt, but the fresh legs made little difference as the Dogs proceeded to gain the upper hand in midfield.

Murphy's long kick inside 50 found Giansiracusa who nailed his fourth goal, before Sherman fired two home in three game-winning minutes after the long change.

It was a completely different story in the first quarter which saw the Crows flying early with a slick three-goal spree in the opening exchanges, before the Bulldogs responded through Ryan Griffen and Murphy, goalling in his landmark game.

Kurt Tippett, himself a pre-game doubt before scans cleared him of an injured shoulder, looked to be dominating up front as he helped himself to two goals for Adelaide.

The Bulldogs clawed back some ground with two majors in the second period. Those goals set the agenda for the rest of the match as the hosts opened the scoring in all subsequent quarters.

Pressure on the ball was at its most evident for the Dogs when Ed Barlow forced a big blunder from Ricky Henderson on the goal-line, charging down the defender's kick just metres from the posts to keep his side snapping at Adelaide's heels.

Bulldogs: 16.14 (100) - D Giansiracusa 4, J Sherman 3, R Griffen 2, E Barlow, E Wood, L Dahlhaus, R Murphy, W Minson

Crows: 10.10 (70) - K Tippett 3, A Otten, B Vince, C Knights, C Schmidt, M Wright, R Sloane, S McKernan

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, sa, adelaide-5000, vic, fitzroy-3065

First posted June 17, 2011 22:18:00

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Bradshaw takes leave from Swans

Posted June 2, 2011 12:11:00

Injury-plagued Sydney full forward Daniel Bradshaw is taking time off from the AFL club to consider whether he wants to continue his playing career.

Bradshaw, 32, has not played this year due to knee problems and made just nine appearances in 2010, his first season with the Swans.

A dual premiership player with Brisbane, Bradshaw recently underwent another bout of surgery and this week asked the club for time off to consider his future.

"He's just coming back from another knee operation and is struggling to get his head around another rehab, so he decided to take some time off," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

"As a football club, we obviously support that. We will wait and see what he decides."

While the season is almost half over, Longmire said there was no deadline for Bradshaw to decide on his future.

"There's no timeline from our point of view, because most importantly he's a legend of the game," he said.

"He's had a couple of big challenges to try and get over in regards to a couple of serious knee injuries.

"He's got a wife and four kids and he needs to really sort things out in regards to whether he wants to have another go at the rehab."

- AAP

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

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Cats leave Blues on the floor

Published:Friday, May 20, 2011 11:40 AEST

Paul Chapman of the Cats celebrates kicking a goal during the round nine AFL match between the Carlton Blues and the Geelong Cats at Etihad Stadium on May 20, 2011 in Melbourne.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, carlton-3053, geelong-3220

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Cats leave first scratch on Magpies

By James Maasdorp

Updated May 13, 2011 23:28:00

Geelong has broken Collingwood's unbeaten start to its premiership defence and continued its own unbeaten run, beating the champions 8.17 (65) to 9.8 (62) at the MCG.

The Cats needed a rousing fourth quarter in front of 81,000 spectators to overcome a severe case of wastefulness in the first period, in which they squandered eight scoring opportunities and missed the chance to build up a huge lead.

The loss was Collingwood's first since the 22nd round of 2010 and the Magpies were left counting the cost after Alan Toovey was stretchered off the field after a nasty collision with Geelong's Tom Hawkins in the third period.

But the result was the perfect way to celebrate for Joel Selwood who chalked up 28 possessions in a best-on-field performance for his 100th game.

After the match, Geelong ruckman Brad Ottens lauded Selwood's ability to turn it on game after game.

"They've been a hundred pretty handy games for a young bloke," he told Grandstand.

"He's incredible. He does what he does every week and hes just a warrior. It's an honour to play with blokes like that.

"[Collingwood are] the benchmark in the competition at the moment, and you know we've been going pretty well ... we knew that if we could handle that pressure early and keep the pressure on the footy when they had it, we'd be able to stay in the game."

After kicking eight consecutive behinds on a slippery turf, the Cats conceded their 21-7 first-quarter lead to trail by 11 at half-time.

But Collingwood never truly pushed on from the third quarter and the Cats eventually found themselves just five points behind heading into the final period.

The Cats put their early wastefulness behind them to set up a grandstand finish as Daniel Menzel came out tops in a career-defining tussle with Dane Swan.

It set up a goal as Selwood took an excellent mark in the pack to set up Steve Johnson, before Jimmy Bartel and James Podsiadly kicked what proved to be the winners for Geelong.

Dale Thomas pulled the difference back to two with a late goal after a clanger from Josh Hunt in defence, who booted straight to a prowling Alan Didak, but Geelong's form in defence this season came to the fore to see it home.

Scott Pendlebury says Collingwood will have to work hard to shake off the loss, but praised Geelong for its win.

"Defensively they pressed up really well and they turn the ball over a lot higher up the ground," he told Grandstand.

"They're going to be a very hard side to beat because theyve got a great defensive mindset and offensively they're as good as anyone."

Geelong had scrounged out the majority of scoring opportunities in the first quarter but was found wanting on all occasions when it came to applying the finish.

The Cats, who have conceded the least amount of points this AFL season so far, did well to restrict Collingwood to just Leigh Brown's major, but scuppered the chance to make a flying start as they scrambled eight consecutive behinds.

The heavy rain helped neither side as play often resembled a game of pinball in midfield, but Geelong finally broke away with two consecutive goals through Matthew Stokes and James Kelly.

But Collingwood proceeded to give its wasteful opponents a lesson in efficiency and handling the elements as it kicked two quick goals through Travis Cloke and Dane Swan, before Steele Sidebottom's quickfire double extended the lead.

Geelong had looked to get its act together when Travis Varcoe goaled early in the third, but Collingwood responded with two quick goals through Cloke and Scott Pendlebury.

Jimmy Bartel brought it back to two goals apiece immediately after, but the game entered a lull as both sides scrapped to keep hold of the Sherrin.

But just as the quarter looked to be petering out in the wet, Allen Christensen popped up to give the Cats a sliver of momentum with a late goal.

Now it was the Magpies who were ruing a failure to put the game to bed.

Geelong: 8.17 (65) - J Bartel 2, A Christensen, J Kelly, J Podsiadly, M Stokes, S Johnson, T Varcoe

Collingwood: 9.8 (62) - S Sidebottom 2, T Cloke 2, A Krakouer, D Swan, D Thomas, L Brown, S Pendlebury

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, collingwood-3066, geelong-3220, melbourne-3000

First posted May 13, 2011 22:30:00

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Fast-finishing Tigers leave North winless

By Raman Goraya

Updated April 24, 2011 20:36:00

A stirring seven-goal final term saw Richmond clinch its first win of the season with a come-from-behind nine-point victory at the expense of fellow strugglers North Melbourne on Sunday evening.

Billed as season-defining showdown for both clubs, the Tigers' speed and youthful exuberance shone through in the last quarter as they reeled in a 13-point three-quarter time deficit to prevail 17.10 (112) to 14.19 (103) at Docklands.

Young Tigers star Dustin Martin stole the show with 33 possessions and four goals, lifting Richmond off the canvas after the Kangaroos jumped out of the blocks with a 5.1 to 1.3 advantage after the opening term.

"Probably one of the best midfield games I've ever seen. He is a good young kid and he has his head screwed on the right way, which is always promising," team-mate Trent Cotchin told Grandstand.

Martin kicked the Tigers into the lead for the final time with five minutes left after being awarded a contentious free-kick deep inside North Melbourne's defensive 50.

Only a minute later, Jake King (three goals) ran into an open goal to extend the margin to 11 points as the Kangaroos ran out of gas with the game on the line.

Jack Riewoldt was also irrepressible at times in the Richmond forward line, taking a swag of strong marks and standing tall with 5.2 for the evening.

Drew Petrie was a standout for the still winless Kangaroos, booting six goals, four of which came in the first half.

The Roos' early advantage was whittled down to 10 points at half-time, before the Tigers briefly took their first lead of the game early in the third term, only for Roos skipper Brent Harvey to inspire his side again with a great running finish.

It was not until 12 minutes into the last term when a goal from Cotchin, who overcame an uncharacteristically poor start to the game, gave the Tigers the edge before they saw out some nervy moments in their back half thanks to some poor goal-kicking by North.

Midfielder Andrew Swallow pointed the finger at North's inability to make the most of its 33 shots on goal.

"It was very disappointing. One of the things we've got at the moment is guys not standing up in front of goals when they get the opportunity," he said.

"I think we kicked 2.8 in the last quarter. It really cost us and it's one that got away."

Better ball use

Whilst still unable to put together a four-quarter performance, Tigers coach Damian Hardwick will be buoyed by the fantastic work rate of his young charges in the clinches.

"We just have to make sure we are continually working on playing the whole game out. We haven't been pretty good in third and second quarters, but our starts are still hurting us and they did today," Cotchin said.

Cotchin said the Tigers gained the ascendancy by using the ball better after the long break, especially out of defence.

"We really got on top of them with the spread and as much as our contested footy probably went down in the second half, it was smarter ball use that helped us," he said.

"I was probably one of the main culprits with my ball use early on.

"But once we straightened up and starting using our width and opening them right up, we were able to put the scores on the board much better."

Robin Nahas' forward pressure was magnificent in the closing stages, as was the inside work of Nathan Foley, who finished with 24 touches and nine tackles.

In contrast, Brad Scott's men could not maintain their cracking start built on exposing the suspect Tigers defence with quick and frequent forward entries thanks to their superior clearance work.

"Our skill execution is still killing us. We really need to turn that around," added Swallow, who was one of North's best.

"We're in this together, we need to go back and work on a few things."

Tigers: 17.10 (112) - J Riewoldt 5, D Martin 4, J King 3, T Cotchin 2, B Miller, M White, S Edwards

Kangaroos: 14.19 (103) - D Petrie 6, A Swallow 2, B Cunnington, B Harvey, D Wells, L Adams, L Hansen, R Tarrant

First posted April 24, 2011 19:48:00

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