Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Lake back on track for Bulldogs
Full-back Brian Lake is on target to regain the form that made him an All-Australian according to Western Bulldogs assistant coach Brett Montgomery.
The 29-year-old had a season to forget in 2011, hampered by injuries to his knee, groin and shoulder.
But at preseason training on Wednesday, Lake - who is still in the rehab group recovering from knee surgery - joined team-mates for part of their running session.
Montgomery liked what he saw.
"His improvement in his running gait is remarkable," he said.
"There was a massive limp there last year. He's improved on that."
Montgomery praised the way Lake had dedicated himself to his rehabilitation and said he was having "a real crack".
"The way he's thrown himself into his rehab, the way he's thrown himself into the education sessions ... he's trying to lead from the front, something he probably hasn't done for 12 months for a number of reasons," he said.
The Bulldogs' draftees Clay Smith, Michael Talia, Tory Dickson and Daniel Pearce were unveiled at the training session at Whitten Oval.
Montgomery said their first choice, midfielder Smith, was among a group of players who would fight to fill the vacancy left by Callan Ward's departure to Greater Western Sydney.
"We've got young (Mitch) Wallis, Libba (Tom Liberatore) - there's guys that are deserved of a crack," he said.
"They'll just go into the mix with Clay and fight it out for those spots."
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs announced they had delisted small defender Jayden Schofield.
The club said the 19-year-old, who had played seven senior games since his debut midway through the season, would return home to Perth to deal with "personal matters".
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, footscray-3011, vic, australia First posted November 30, 2011 22:56:01Bomber players suspended for six weeks
The Chairman of the Tiwi Bombers says four players have been suspended until January for disciplinary reasons.
Ephrem Tipungwuti, Roy Kantilla, Samson Mungatopi and Nathan Pilakui will miss all games for the next two months.
The Chairman, Alan McGill, says all players were told at training last night.
He says the team supports the decision.
Tags: sport, australian-football-league, darwin-0800 First posted December 02, 2011 13:06:03Goodes welcomes 'little brother' Giants
Sydney co-captain Adam Goodes has welcomed the arrival of "little brother" Greater Western Sydney and the AFL limelight the new club has taken in the past few months.
Goodes, who is one week into his 15th preseason, boasts two Brownlow Medals and more sway than any other AFL player in Sydney.
Yet he, and the Swans, have taken a back seat to the Giants over the past few months.
It is a trend likely to continue ahead of their clash to open the 2012 season on March 24 - and that sits just fine with the Swans stalwart.
"I think it's great they're getting the attention," Goodes said.
"They need it. They need it for their membership ... and if it means we get a really big crowd for round one, it's fantastic."
Goodes, who hails from the South Australian town of Wallaroo, was hoping the teams could create a rivalry to match the Adelaide showdown.
"If we can create that sort of rivalry, it's going to be fantastic for both football clubs," he said.
"We are the sort of big brothers up here in Sydney. I've got two younger brothers and as a kid you always used to beat them in the games you play in the backyard.
"Hopefully that sort of rivalry - big brother, little brother - at the start can happen and we've got a lot of respect for them."
While Sydney's first match of the 2012 season has most fans' attention, it is round four that Goodes' mother Lisa Sansbury will be making the trip to watch.
Goodes will, barring injury or suspension, usurp good mate Michael O'Loughlin as the Swans' games record-holder when he plays North Melbourne at the SCG on April 22.
Goodes, who played his 300th AFL match against Hawthorn in a losing semi-final this year to be in touching distance of O'Loughlin's tally of 303, says he is yet to study the draw next year.
However his mum, who lives in country Victoria, certainly has.
"I asked her why she wanted to come up so early in the year (round four)," he said.
"She said, 'that's ... the game, (where) you might beat Micky O's record'.
"I said 'Oh. Yeah. Sweet. When we get there we'll get there'.
"She likes to plan these things in advance.
"Next year's got a lot of things to be excited for - individually and as a football club."
Lisa was Goodes' partner on the night he was presented with the 2003 Brownlow Medal.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, sydney-2000, blacktown-2148, nsw, australia First posted December 02, 2011 18:43:33Judd carrying injury blues already
Carlton captain Chris Judd has suffered a shoulder injury at AFL preseason training.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist has had scans on his right shoulder and will meet a specialist on Thursday to decide on the best course of action.
The Blues were unable to provide more detail on the severity of the injury.
But they were confident that even in the worse-case scenario, Judd would be ready for the opening round of the 2012 season.
"The Carlton medical team and Chris decided it was best to take this action now to ensure, no matter what the outcome of the review, that Chris will be available for the 2012 AFL season," the club said in a statement.
The former West Coast premiership skipper was runner-up to Marc Murphy in the Blues' best and fairest count this season, after winning the award in his previous three seasons at Carlton.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, carlton-3053, vic, australia First posted November 30, 2011 18:24:23Mike Warren Sports Picks
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Bombers shut door on Lovett return
Essendon has ruled out giving speedster Andrew Lovett a second chance, as the former Bomber attempts to resume his stalled AFL career.
The 29-year-old played 88 games for Essendon between 2005 and 2009, but battled disciplinary and personal issues and was traded to St Kilda.
He never played a game for the Saints, who sacked him after he was charged with rape within months of joining them.
Lovett was acquitted in July this year and is aiming to resume his career through the December 13 pre-season draft.
He has said his ideal scenario would be to return to Essendon, but Bombers football manager Paul Hamilton said on Wednesday that would not happen.
"We are in the process of building a list and we are committed to the strategies we are employing," Hamilton said on the club's website.
"We are respectful of Andrew's contribution as a past player but, unfortunately, he doesn't fit our plans for the future.
"We wish Andrew the best with his future endeavours including his ambitions to gain another opportunity within the AFL system."
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, essendon-3040, vic, australia First posted November 30, 2011 17:20:41