Monfries leaves Bombers for Port

Updated October 08, 2012 13:22:40

Essendon forward Angus Monfries will return to his home state and play for Port Adelaide in the first confirmed deal of the AFL trade period.

The Bombers will gain pick number 48 for Monfries, who had played 150 matches in eight seasons.

"I've loved playing for Essendon and I sincerely thank everyone there for the opportunities they've given me," Monfries said.

"I will miss Essendon, but it will be great to come home and play in front of my family and friends and help Port Adelaide get back to where it wants to be.

"That challenge is a big part of the appeal for me.

"I am someone who likes to get the best out of themselves and coming to Port Adelaide I will work to get more opportunities to do that."

Monfries says he is also looking to push up into the midfield.

He was a restricted free agent, but the Power were able to negotiate a trade with Essendon and he will join Port on a four-year deal.

It means Port will maximise the draft compensation they receive for losing Danyle Pearce to Fremantle and Troy Chaplin to Richmond last week through free agency.

The Bombers had put an offer to Monfries, but he decided to return to South Australia.

"Angus has been a fantastic player for Essendon and it's always sad to see a player of his calibre leave," coach James Hird said in a statement.

"At the end of the day Angus had an offer in front of him that we believe truly reflected his position at Essendon, but he has made a decision to secure his financial future and we have to respect that."

The Bombers recruited the 25-year-old with their first pick at number 14 in the 2004 national draft.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, essendon-3040, port-adelaide-5015

First posted October 08, 2012 13:22:40

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Goddard leaves Saints for Bombers

Updated October 02, 2012 08:22:21

It took just one day into the AFL's new free agency trade period for the Bombers to hit their big target, securing Brendon Goddard on a four-year deal from next season.

Essendon confirmed it had made a formal offer to St Kilda earlier on Monday, after the 28-year-old Goddard - a restricted free agent - agreed terms with the Bombers.

Just hours later, St Kilda confirmed it could only offer Goddard a three-year contract, sealing Goddard's departure to Windy Hill.

"We made a significant offer to Brendon that was relative to both his position and other players within the team," St Kilda head of football Chris Pelchen said.

"While we are disappointed at his decision to leave the Saints, we are absolutely committed to our 'team first' philosophy in relation to player contracts.

"While we were keen to retain Brendon's services, the club respects his right to exercise his options under new free agency rules."

Essendon said Goddard was currently on annual leave and unavailable for comment.

Coach James Hird and chief executive Ian Robson will hold a press conference on Tuesday.

Essendon assistant coach Mark Thompson believes Goddard will make an immediate difference.

"He's a quality player, he plays to win, he uses the ball well, he's a good size, he's very flexible, and we probably haven't got enough of those players," Thompson said on Fox Footy.

"I think he'll probably slip straight into the leadership group I'd say.

"Just his experience of playing big-time finals football, playing a style of footy that can win finals.

"He's been part of all that so just his general leadership around the club."

Goddard was named in St Kilda's leadership group in 2012, and was seen as a possible successor to Saints captain Nick Riewoldt.

He played 20 games for St Kilda in 2012, and has played 205 career games (scoring 104 goals) for the club since making his AFL debut in 2003.

As a restricted free agent, Goddard had to decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club before his own club had 72 hours to decide whether to match that offer.

Had the Saints matched the offer, Goddard could have accepted, sought a trade or entered the AFL draft.

Also on Monday, the AFL advised no priority picks would be awarded to any clubs for the upcoming draft.

Under the previous rule, any team that accumulated 16 premiership points or less in a year was entitled to a selection prior to the second round of the AFL Draft, while any club with two consecutive seasons of 16 premiership points or less in a year, was entitled to a selection prior to the first round.

In February this season, the AFL decided a much-stricter criteria would be used to determine whether clubs were eligible for priority picks.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-3182, vic, australia, essendon-3040

First posted October 01, 2012 12:47:28

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Ash cloud leaves Ablett stranded

Updated June 21, 2011 18:18:00

Flight cancellations caused by volcanic ash have again caused havoc with AFL scheduling, leaving Gold Coast Suns captain Gary Ablett stranded in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Brownlow medallist will miss a Suns training session on Wednesday after revealing his plight on Twitter.

"Stuck in melbourne. chilly solo training session for me 2morro, not rapt, boys tell me it will be low 20's up on the coast!" he tweeted.

The Suns confirmed Ablett would remain in Melbourne until he was cleared to fly back to Queensland.

Gold Coast hosts the Western Bulldogs at Carrara on Saturday.

Coincidentally the Bulldogs flew out of Melbourne on Tuesday for the Gold Coast - a day ahead of schedule - due to air travel concerns.

They had been scheduled to leave for the tourist strip on Wednesday morning but had been urged by the AFL to depart on Tuesday afternoon as the volcanic ash threat worsened.

Just last week, the Suns and Hawthorn flew out a day early to Tasmania for last Saturday's Launceston encounter and Port Adelaide also flew 24 hours in advance for last Sunday's match against West Coast in Perth.

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, qld, carrara-4211, vic, footscray-3011

First posted June 21, 2011 17:32:00

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