Geelong bans Stringer from AFL until 2013

Updated June 20, 2012 16:01:14

Geelong has punished rookie midfielder Jesse Stringer for behaviour it deems "totally unacceptable", by banning him from AFL selection until the 2013 season.

Stringer, 21, was arrested last Friday and charged with the alleged assault of a woman at a house in Grovedale in Victoria.

On Wednesday the club issued a statement announcing the ban - which includes the remainder of the home and away season plus finals, adding that Stringer would also be banned from playing with Geelong's VFL side until round 18.

"The club has arrived at this decision following a recommendation from the player leadership group that was made in consultation with the General Manager of Football, the Football Operations Manager, the senior coach and the Player Development manager," the club said in the statement.

"The recommendation was endorsed by the club's senior management and the board. The AFL has been kept informed and has approved the club's position."

Stringer will also be required to attend behaviour related education programs arranged by Geelong.

"The club is committed to two major outcomes from this situation. Firstly, to reinforce the AFL's respect and responsibility policy to all players and members of the club.

"Secondly the club will support Stringer and encourage him to learn from this experience and to continue to commit himself to develop as a person and a player."

The AFL's general manager of football operations, Adrian Anderson, said in a statement that the league endorsed Geelong's actions in delivering the sanction.

"With this sanction, the Geelong Football Club and its leadership group have sent a powerful message to the AFL industry and the community more broadly that violence against women is never acceptable," Anderson said.

"The AFL’s Respect and Responsibility Policy is very clear that inappropriate player behaviour will not be tolerated and Geelong deserves to be commended for its unequivocal stand, which is reflected in the strong action taken."

Stringer was recruited from the Port Adelaide Magpies in South Australia, but missed the entire 2010 season with a hip injury and most of 2011 with a knee injury.

He made his AFL debut in round four this year, and has played eight senior matches for the club, scoring three goals.

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

First posted June 20, 2012 15:19:23

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AFL hopes soar, until reality sets in

Comment by Neil Cross

Updated June 08, 2012 11:55:41

There are three critical times in the AFL calendar when expectation appears to overwhelm reality. At the beginning, in the middle and then in September.

At the start of each season, every team talks of records being broken in the gym and on the track. Every club talks of a finals finish. Every fan is filled with hope.

Around mid-June, there is again a good deal of hyperbole based on the performances of the clubs during the first half of the season.

Some of the discussion deems clubs worthy of a place in the eight. Then there is a list of battlers just beyond the worthy and finally the clubs deemed also-rans.

Again in September, the expectation rises. Usually it peaks after the first week of finals. Inevitably the winners in the lower half of the eight are talked up as being real contenders for the premiership. Reality is usually restored after the second week of finals.

So there are three distinct times when clubs are universally assessed and their futures guessed at. Then there are the Tigers.

Richmond has become a special case. And it is happening again. While it happens to be mid-season, the reality is this. Any time the Tigers put together a few wins there is a rising tide of emotion that declares the yellow-and-black is back.

Once again, the Tigers are supposedly contenders. Their young players have developed, their game plan is locked in and their performances back up the assessment that they are the real deal. The Tigers have won four of their past five games, among them solid wins over top eight sides, Sydney and Hawthorn.

Hang on. They are 10th on the ladder.

But in the world of the Tiger fan - and plenty of others - that's just a minor detail. For supporters who have seen their side play in the finals just twice since their last grand final appearance in 1982, any sign of progress is to be firmly embraced, hugged, gripped, squeezed and - only when all hope is gone - discarded.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has tried to manage expectations, but nevertheless is a believer.

"We've got the players to take us wherever we need to go," Hardwick said in recent days.

"The core group is here that's going to take Richmond, I think, to its next finals campaign."

But he added a note of caution.

"We've just got to keep adding players along the way," he said. "I've got no doubt they'll get there at some stage."

At some stage. The reality for Richmond is that, with five wins after 10 rounds, another seven victories, perhaps even eight, are going to be needed to ensure a place in the top eight come the finals. That would be seven (or eight) wins from 12 remaining games. In the cut-throat world of the AFL that will be no easy task.

On the other hand, as the ladder stands now, the Tigers will only have to play three sides in the top eight during those 12 games.

The Tigers passed 50,000 members this week and have a target of 75,000 by 2014. There have even been suggestions the 100,000-member mark is not beyond the club.

Performance on and off the field are intrinsically linked. The major problem remains whether expectation and reality are still too far apart for the Tigers.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, sa, vic, richmond-3121, australia

First posted June 08, 2012 11:55:41

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Blues lose Murphy until July

Updated May 21, 2012 17:10:09

Star Carlton midfielder Marc Murphy will be out until round 14 with a shoulder injury that requires surgery.

Murphy sustained the injury to his left shoulder in Sunday's 69-point loss to Adelaide at Docklands.

The club said scans on Monday morning revealed a fracture in one of the bones in Murphy's shoulder and the necessary surgery will require at least five weeks of recovery.

"We will not have an accurate indication of how long Marc will be out of action until the surgery is performed," Carlton general manager Andrew McKay said in a statement.

"However we do know he will not be available until after our bye in round 13."

The Blues, who surged into premiership contention early on in the season, have a 5-3 record through eight rounds but have lost their last two in a row to St Kilda and the Crows.

Sunday's thumping at Adelaide's hands prompted coach Brett Ratten to question his players' work rate.

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

First posted May 21, 2012 16:52:11

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