Scott calls for Cats to lift at the contest

Updated April 18, 2012 17:57:02

Geelong coach Chris Scott insists Paul Chapman and a dozen of his struggling senior team-mates can quickly regain their all-conquering form of 2011.

Chapman is a triple-premiership player and 2009 Norm Smith Medallist but was held to just 12 possessions in last week's upset loss to North Melbourne at Docklands.

Without a goal in his past four games including last year's grand final, the 30-year-old forward/midfielder is experiencing the longest dry spell in his 225-game career that has yielded 288 majors.

The stocky Chapman isn't past his best, Scott says, having gathered 24 disposals in round one against Fremantle.

But the two-time All-Australian and his veteran teammates need to start crashing in for the hard-ball gets in a hurry before the 11th-placed Cats (1-2) slide further down the ladder.

"We thought he was pretty good in the first game," Scott told reporters on Wednesday.

"He's not up to his usual lofty standards but that's a pretty hard level to maintain.

"He played some good footy through the preseason competition.

"We're expecting him to get back to his best really quickly.

"You could probably make the same observation about another 10 or 12 (players).

"We really value contested players and, at the moment, we don't have too many of them.

"But it's not as if that ability has left the building."

Chapman's average of 19.3 disposals per game compares poorly with his tallies of 27.8 and 23.5 in the past two seasons.

"We hope that our experienced players lead the way but we want our inexperienced players to be not too far behind," Scott added.

An in-house review of last week's 17-point loss has led to senior players making some suggestions, but not what Scott would call wholesale changes, for Sunday's round-four clash with 10th-placed Richmond in Geelong.

"We're very low in terms of getting our hands on the ball, both in hard situations and also out in space," Scott said.

"We think those things are relatively easy to correct, but it's a lot easier to say.

"We don't think that our young players have let us down at all.

"We have a critical mass of players who aren't going as well as they can."

Quizzed on reports North Melbourne had adopted parts of Geelong's game plan, Scott said: "I'm sure they don't want to be last for hard-ball gets and second-last for uncontested possessions."

Meanwhile, Scott assured Cats' fans their 59-point loss to Richmond last month during the pre-season cup was 99 per cent irrelevant.

Geelong have won seven in a row against the Tigers. The home side will unveil their 2011 flag before the game.

The Cats are likely to regain small forward Mathew Stokes (teeth), while Billie Smedts (chest) is in doubt and defender Andrew Mackie (cut lip and concussion) faces a test.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, geelong-3220, vic, australia, richmond-3121

First posted April 18, 2012 13:58:38

View the original article here

Tarrant's return boosts Magpies: Buckley

Updated April 06, 2012 14:17:27

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says the return from injury of Chris Tarrant adds some steel to the Magpies' backline ahead of Saturday night's round-two clash with Richmond at the MCG.

The Magpies regain Tarrant and Dayne Beams at the expense of Luke Rounds and debutant Peter Yagmoor.

While last year's grand finalists Collingwood lost to premiership favourites Hawthorn by 22 points in round one under new coach Buckley, the Tigers failed to live up to their preseason hype with a 44-point loss to Carlton last week.

But Buckley says the Tigers showed throughout the preseason that they will be a strong side in 2012.

"'Taz' (Tarrant) is a great addition for us. Having him through our defensive rotations is important," Buckley said on Friday.

"It adds that bit of experience and steel for us in the second round. Beamsy has been coming back gradually and his form in the last couple of weeks was excellent."

Skipper Nick Maxwell trained with the side on Friday at Gosch's Paddock but has been ruled out of the Richmond game as he recovers from an ankle injury.

Buckley said Maxwell would not play VFL this weekend.

Maxwell's absence is a blow for the Magpies with Buckley admitting he is a fan of Richmond's attack.

"Richmond have been playing their three talls. (Ty) Vickery, (Jack) Riewoldt and (Brad) Miller have been as good as any through the preseason," Buckley said.

"Miller in particular, his form up around that front half has been quite damaging.

"Although Carlton were able to hold both Miller and Vickery for times last week, we expect that they'll want to bounce back pretty quickly.

"So it's going to be important early in the match to try to keep that ascendancy."

AAP

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

First posted April 06, 2012 14:17:27

View the original article here

Whitecross cleared by tribunal

Updated April 12, 2012 10:52:59

Hawthorn has hailed Brendan Whitecross' acquittal at the AFL tribunal as a win for common sense.

After a hearing that lasted for more than an hour and a half, the tribunal jury took 10 minutes on Wednesday night to find that the Hawks forward was not guilty of rough conduct against Geelong captain Joel Selwood.

Whitecross not only beat a two-match suspension, but also received widespread praise at the hearing for the concern he showed Selwood immediately after their collision during the epic Easter Monday match at the MCG.

"The concern he showed to his opponent was very commendable," said tribunal chairman David Jones after Whitecross was found not guilty.

The match review panel charged Whitecross with rough conduct after Selwood ran into him during the frenetic last term.

The Cats star was left dazed by the contact and had to briefly leave the field.

The jury agreed with the Hawks' well-argued case that the incident was a collision, rather than a high bump.

"Common sense has prevailed, because this is a really tough game to play," Hawks football manager Mark Evans said.

"Things happen so quickly and if you take things frame by frame or slow motion, you can get a distorted view as to what is realistically available as an option for a player."

Whitecross said in his evidence that Selwood had rung on Tuesday to thank him for his concern after the collision and to express regret that a charge had been laid.

He could have accepted a one-match ban with an early plea and was risking a two-week suspension by going to the tribunal.

"I'm absolutely relieved ... with the speed of the game and the context of the game, it was just unavoidable," Whitecross said after the hearing.

While the jury had to consider several factors in their deliberation, Whitecross had a lot in his favour.

Field umpire Dean Margetts, who was closest to the incident, had not paid a free kick and said in his testimony that he thought Whitecross had done anything wrong.

Margetts said the video evidence that formed the basis of the report had not change his mind "too much".

He added the match was played at "finals-like intensity" and described it as a "concertina" collision where Selwood was caught between Whitecross and fellow Hawk Cyril Rioli.

Tribunal advocate Jeff Gleeson argued that video footage taken on the opposite angle from where Margetts saw the incident suggest that Whitecross had moved to make contact with Selwood.

But the Hawks argued that Whitecross was bracing for an inevitable collision that knocked over the two players.

Under sustained cross-examination from Gleeson, Whitecross stuck to his version of events.

"It all happened so quickly, there was nothing else I could have done," Whitecross said repeatedly.

AAP

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

First posted April 11, 2012 19:57:49

View the original article here

Stynes to be honoured with minute's applause

Updated March 28, 2012 13:15:44

Melbourne Football Club has announced the MCG will stand for a minute's applause instead of silence before this weekend's match against Brisbane, to honour Demons legend Jim Stynes.

Gaelic football fans at Ireland's Croke Park were encouraged to do the same during the week in honour of their countryman.

The practice has become regular in the United Kingdom, especially in memory of football legends like Sir Bobby Robson and George Best.

Coach Mark Neeld says Melbourne's players could use Saturday's opening match as an outlet for their emotions following the death of club icon Stynes, who was buried after a massive. state funeral on Tuesday.

He said he will harness the emotion and talk about it before the MCG match against Brisbane, but will also allow the players to deal with it as they want.

"It'll be a tough time for the club," Neeld said on Wednesday.

"We have a clearly defined role for the players, that's to perform, so that could be a really good outlet for them.

"There are people in our admin section who have worked on a daily basis with Jim for years, they don't have that outlet.

"That's probably going to be difficult for those guys to deal with, but it may just be something that the players need, to get out and have an outlet."

Meanwhile, Neeld said he could not give a definitive answer on whether the underperforming Jack Watts would play on Saturday after a modest preseason.

The former number one draft pick was sent back to VFL club Casey last week to push for selection against Brisbane.

"I thought he played OK in the VFL, so he's certainly given himself a chance to be selected," Neeld said.

Neeld said co-captain Jack Grimes has overcome a shoulder injury and will be fit to play on Saturday.

Upgraded rookie James Magner is in line for a debut after a solid preseason from the midfielder.

"He'll certainly be in and around the mark," Neeld said.

"It's a big decision to promote a rookie to the primary list and, when you do that, you're probably thinking very strongly he might play."

Neeld also said Liam Jurrah was still with the rehab group as he recovers from a wrist injury and was still a month away.

ABC/AAP

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

First posted March 28, 2012 12:49:21

View the original article here

Demetriou happy with video review

Updated April 02, 2012 14:15:59

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has given the thumbs up to the video review system after the opening round of the season.

Demetriou said the league's operations manager Adrian Anderson told him the officials made the correct call on each of the five goal line referrals made during round one.

"There's always going to be an inconclusive one," he said.

"If there was four they got right and one inconclusive one, that's an 80 per cent improvement on last year because we would have had five last year that would have still been inconclusive because we didn't have the video review.

"We've always said this isn't going to get everything right. But if it gets more right than it gets wrong then it's got to be better than we've had in the past.

"So far, so good. It hasn't interrupted the continuity of the game."

Demetriou rejected North Melbourne coach Brad Scott's call for umpires to no longer report players and leave the issue in the hands of the match review panel.

"It's very important umpires continue to lay reports on match day, otherwise it will usurp their authority on the field," Demetriou said.

"And we can't have that, they are the authorities on the ground."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia

First posted April 02, 2012 14:15:59

View the original article here

Bombers cut loose from Port

Updated April 07, 2012 20:33:36

Essendon started its season with a second successive victory after beating Port Adelaide by 25 points at Docklands on Saturday.

Port took the fight up to last year's finalists, trailing by just two points at three-quarter time before fading in the last term as the Bombers won 16.15 (111) to 13.8 (86) in front of a delighted crowd of 34,118.

Ruckman Patrick Ryder, with 46 hit-outs, was dominant for the Bombers after David Hille limped off in the first term with a calf injury, while small forward Leroy Jetta booted four goals.

Brent Stanton, after being best-afield in Essendon's win over North Melbourne last week, backed up with a 25-possession game while the impressive Courtenay Dempsey finished with 23, nine of which came in the final term.

Inspirational Bombers captain Jobe Watson was immense with 25 touches and 13 tackles, while veteran Dustin Fletcher was cool under pressure at the back.

Bombers coach James Hird praised the resilience of his side against a much-improved Port, which was 16th last year and upset St Kilda last week.

But Hird warned Essendon's goal-kicking had to improve after a wasteful third term return of 1.7.

"If we had kicked straighter then the game might have been dead earlier," he said.

"But really with the injuries we had, I still consider it a really good effort by our players.

"The criticism of Essendon has been the resilience and the ability to fight.

"The way our players fought the game out was a great effort."

Port's key forwards Jay Schulz (four goals) and Justin Westhoff (three goals) were prominent for the visitors while Kane Cornes had 27 possessions.

A brilliant left-foot snap from Westhoff gave Port an 11-point break late in the first term.

But two late goals allowed the Bombers to draw level at 5.2 apiece at quarter-time.

Essendon outscored Port five goals to two in the second quarter to lead 10.6 (66) to 7.3 (45) at half-time.

With Ryder in tremendous form and Watson working hard in midfield, the Bombers held a 38-17 advantage at half-time in the inside-50s.

Port subbed out small forward Chad Wingard at half-time following a head knock.

A five-goal burst including two each from Westhoff and Schulz sparked Port's fightback as they narrowed the margin to two points at three-quarter time after the wasteful Bombers had scored 1.7 in the third term.

Essendon's David Myers departed early in the last term with a possible hamstring strain.

But the Bombers steadied with five goals to Port's one in the final term, including two to Stewart Crameri.

"As a midfield group, we need to be able to play four quarters of competitive footy to give our forwards a chance to win the game," Port skipper Dom Cassisi said.

"When we get it in our forward line, we often score.

"It's a big learning day for us and we need to improve."

However, coach Matthew Primus was pleased with his side's ability to stick to task and turn around the centre clearances which Port dominated after half-time.

"Up until the last five or six minutes, the game was right on the line," he said.

"We just made some really poor decisions from the word go that cost us lots of scores and meant we played the game in our opposition's half a lot.

"We'll just go back to the review and keep teaching our players what to do in certain situations."

Port's record for the season now stands at 1-1 after upsetting St Kilda last week.

The Power host Sydney next Saturday while Essendon travels to Gold Coast to play the Suns later that night.

Essendon: 16.15 (111) - L Jetta 4, S Crameri 3, B Stanton 2, A Monfries, B Howlett, C Dempsey, D Hille, D Zaharakis, J Carlisle, M Hurley.

Port Adelaide: 13.8 (86) - J Schulz 4, J Westhoff 3, Brad Ebert, C Wingard, J McCarthy, J Redden, M Thomas, P Stewart.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, essendon-3040, vic, australia, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted April 07, 2012 16:37:31

View the original article here

Lions not taking Suns lightly

Updated April 16, 2012 19:04:16

Brisbane coach Michael Voss says his team has learned its lesson from being ambushed in the inaugural Queensland derby and will not under-estimate the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night.

Voss on Monday admitted last year's upset eight-point loss to the previously winless Gold Coast still stung as the Suns had grabbed a piece of history.

At a joint media conference with Suns coach Guy McKenna, Voss said there was no way the young Coast side, 0-3 this season, would be underestimated at the Gabba.

"We've learnt lessons from the first time we met last year," he said.

"We were a little bit ambushed last time.

"They had had some inconsistent performances leading up to that but were able to deliver on that particular day.

"It probably just shows what things like Q-Clash means. It doesn't matter where you're sitting or what your win-loss ledger is because it's more about the game itself and the occasion.

"It's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen again."

The Lions balanced the ledger in round 21 when they won by 62 points at the Gabba.

Meanwhile the Lions' injury pain continued with influential ruckman Matthew Leuenberger ruled out for at least six weeks with an Achilles tear.

A week after regaining captain Jonathan Brown, but losing Simon Black, the Lions must cope without their next best player following scan results on Monday.

Brisbane will be forced to rely on both age and youth with odd couple Ben Hudson and Billy Longer to lead its ruck division in the derby clash.

Former Western Bulldogs veteran Hudson and first-round draft pick Longer are set to join forces for the first time on Saturday night.

"It's obviously very disappointing for Matthew to be on the sidelines for this length of time," Lions football manager Dean Warren said.

"We believe that he is developing into one of the best ruckmen in the competition so he will be a loss for us.

"However, over the off-season we made it a priority to add depth in this area and we have every confidence that Ben Hudson and Billy Longer will do an outstanding job holding up our ruck stocks."

Voss was highly impressed with how Longer stood up in a baptism of fire in his debut against Fremantle big man Adam Sandilands.

"It was great exposure for him and the fact he could play against that player and get one game under his belt as a wonderful learning experience," Voss said.

AAP

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

First posted April 16, 2012 16:30:21

View the original article here