Jurrah quits Demons to stay in Adelaide

Updated September 03, 2012 17:40:00

Liam Jurrah has quit the Melbourne AFL club as he prepares for his criminal court case next year.

Port Adelaide appears to be Jurrah's main chance of continuing his career next season, after the club released a statement on Tuesday acknowledging it had already had contact with Jurrah's management.

Jurrah, due to face trial in Alice Springs in March over an alleged machete attack, moved to Adelaide in August to be with family.

He has been on indefinite leave at Melbourne during that time.

But while the Demons were hopeful he would return and play for them next season, Jurrah's manager now says the forward wants to remain in South Australia and hopes to join an Adelaide AFL club.

"Liam has decided he needs to be close to his family," Jurrah's manager Ned Guy told The Age website.

"At this point in time family is number one for Liam and they are based in Adelaide. We know things can change over time.

"Does he want to continue playing football?

"Yes he does. He is still very passionate about footy because he loves the game and he understands it can make a difference to his people and culture.

"But at the moment his happiness and well-being are the more important thing and for that he needs to be in Adelaide."

Guy said Jurrah understood that his decision meant he might not be picked up by Adelaide or Port Adelaide, which would mean an end to his AFL career.

In the statement, Port Adelaide general manager of football Peter Rohde said the club believed Jurrah was a "very talented player".

"At this point we have had only limited contact with Liam's management, but we think he is a very talented player," Rohde said.

"He is working through some complicated issues which we are keen to better understand before making any decision regarding our interest in bringing him to Port Adelaide."

The 23-year-old is facing three charges of aggravated assault and one count of unlawfully causing serious harm.

He has played only one game of football this season, Melbourne's round eight loss to Sydney. Jurrah suffered a serious ankle injury in the game.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, adelaide-5000, sa, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted September 03, 2012 17:37:25

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North boss quits after board review

Updated June 05, 2012 17:05:55

North Melbourne chief executive Eugene Arocca has quit the AFL club after reports of a rift between himself and board members.

Arocca handed in his resignation, effective immediately, saying his position had become untenable.

"As a result of matters beyond my control, I have handed in my resignation to James Brayshaw effective immediately," he said in a statement.

"I will remain a proud and passionate member of the North Melbourne Football Club and will fondly remember my time as CEO.

"I want to thank my loyal staff for their incredible hard work and support and I want to pass on my best wishes to the playing group, Board and football department for a successful future.

"I would also like to acknowledge our amazing supporters and urge them to continue to back the club in and get right behind the mighty royal blue and white.

"North Melbourne has been a big part of my life for the past five years and I hope to remain part of the Kangaroo family for a long time to come.

Kangaroos president James Brayshaw said the board had met last month to set in place a process to decide whether Arocca should continue in the job beyond the expiry of his contract in October, or be replaced.

But he denied that Arocca had delivered an ultimatum over the timing of the decision or that he had a personal feud with the chief executive.

"It was decided we needed to embark on a process of either re-signing Eugene or beginning to search for whoever might replace him," Brayshaw told reporters.

"It's just proper board behaviour. It had begun, it was ongoing, he knew everything about it, there was no cloak and dagger about it."

Brayshaw said suggestions of rifts between Arocca and himself or between Arocca and the club's football manager Donald McDonald were untrue, although he admitted there had been friction at times.

"In footy clubs, regularly you get times when people don't see eye to eye, it's a robust environment," Brayshaw said.

"I think Donald and Eugene have great respect for each other.

"I'd be lying if I said they always see eye to eye, the same way I'd be lying if I said Eugene and I always saw eye to eye.

"You don't, it's a brutal industry and there are times when you need to have brutal and frank discussions with people."

Brayshaw said Arocca's "street fighter" nature had caused him to butt heads with other club figures at times, but was also part of what had made him good at his job.

He said Arocca had achieved a lot in his five years, notably spearheading the creation of the club's $15 million training and administration facility, helping transferring club control to the members and increasing revenue.

Chief operating officer Cam Vale will be acting chief executive, with Brayshaw expecting it to take two or three months to find a permanent replacement.

Brayshaw said Arocca had been asked whether he wanted to front Tuesday's media conference, but declined.

AAP

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

First posted June 05, 2012 15:25:08

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Power boss calls it quits

Expires:Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:29

Mark Haysman has resigned as CEO of the troubled Port Adelaide AFL club.

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Tags: australian-football-league, sa, adelaide-5000, port-adelaide-5015

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Grandstand's Mitchell quits the box

Updated May 26, 2011 12:00:00

Grandstand sports broadcaster Glenn Mitchell has resigned after 22 years with the ABC.

Mitchell, a specialist cricket and AFL commentator based in Western Australia, resigned last Friday.

His resignation was accepted yesterday following discussions with senior ABC executives.

"He has had a long career with the ABC, and has been a wonderful AFL and cricket commentator, as well as setting the standard as a caller at Olympic and Commonwealth Games," Grandstand manager Craig Norenbergs said.

"He is a talented broadcaster and we hope we can talk to him in the near future about casual or contract opportunities as a commentator."

ABC Local Radio manager for Western Australia Deborah Leavitt said Mitchell has had a distinguished career and is a highly respected broadcaster.

Mitchell is currently overseas on holiday.

Tags: information-and-communication, broadcasting, abc, sport, australian-football-league, cricket, australia, wa, perth-6000

First posted May 26, 2011 11:40:00

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Country footy under review as VCFL boss quits

Updated May 18, 2011 08:18:00

The AFL has ordered a review of country football in Victoria after the sudden departure of the Victorian Country Football League's (VCFL) chief executive.

Glenn Scott has resigned after nine years in the role and will be replaced by the former central Victorian footballer, Stephen Reaper.

The AFL's chief executive, Andrew Demetriou, issued a strongly worded statement yesterday, saying he was alarmed by Mr Scott's departure and disappointed that country football was losing someone of his calibre and experience.

Mr Demetriou has criticised the VCFL's board, saying he is disappointed with the process and the outcome.

He also stated the review is needed to ensure everyone can work together.

VCFL chairman Nicholas Rolfe has denied that there were tensions between Mr Scott and the board and says it was a positive working relationship.

The review's terms of reference are due to be decided next week.

Tags: sport, victorian-football-league-vfl, vic, ballarat-3350, bendigo-3550, horsham-3400, mildura-3500, sale-3850, shepparton-3630, wodonga-3690

First posted May 18, 2011 08:09:00

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