Blues axe Irishman O'hAilpin

Updated October 18, 2011 17:26:29

Carlton's Irish key position player Setanta O'hAilpin's career with the Blues is over, after eight years with the club.

O'hAilpin, 28, was axed on Tuesday, after Carlton's efforts to deliver him to a rival club in the just-completed trade period were unsuccessful.

With the Blues having previously de-listed only the retired Ryan Houlihan and youngster Mark Austin, AFL rules requiring each club to cut a minimum three players meant at least one more faced the chop.

Carlton chief executive Greg Swann says it came down to a choice of O'hAilpin or injury-prone defender Paul Bower, with 23-year-old Bower's youth helping his cause.

"This was a very tough decision for us," Swann said.

"Setanta has been an important part of our club for (eight) years since he arrived in Australia from Ireland.

"The AFL rules required us to make one more change.

"Setanta and Paul Bower were the two players out of contract and, after a lengthy meeting this morning, we made this tough decision.

"We certainly wish Setanta the very best and I know his enthusiasm will be missed around the Carlton Football Club."

The 199-centimetre tall O'hAilpin, who came to football from a hurling background, made his AFL debut in 2005, the first of 80 senior matches, in which he spent time in defence, ruck and attack.

His eight matches this season included the Blues' two finals, when he was needed as an attacking target, as Carlton was missing fellow big men Jarrad Waite, Matthew Kreuzer and Shaun Hampson.

O'hAilpin's axing and the recent retirement of Sydney premiership player Tadhg Kennelly leaves only eight Irishmen with AFL clubs, with all of those other than Brisbane's Pearce Hanley, Collingwood's Marty Clarke and Sydney's Tommy Walsh on rookie lists.

Clarke only returned to the Magpies in the trade period, after two years at home in Ireland, while Walsh joined the Swans on Monday, following two years on St Kilda's rookie list without a senior appearance.

Apart from his football feats, O'hAilpin's most memorable moment with the Blues came in a 2009 intraclub preseason match, when he punched then team-mate Cameron Cloke, then kicked Cloke while he was lying on the ground.

The incident resulted in a four-match suspension and O'hAilpin was also exiled from the club for almost a fortnight.

Richmond also announced three de-listings on Tuesday - Troy Taylor, Ben Nason and Mitch Farmer.

The Tigers gave up hope of luring Taylor back to the club after he walked out in March to return to the Northern Territory, after battling various problems, including an assault charge and homesickness.

AAP

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

First posted October 18, 2011 17:26:29

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Bulldogs lose Williams to Carlton

Updated October 04, 2011 13:36:11

Assistant coaches Paul Williams and Peter Dean will leave the Western Bulldogs, with Williams switching clubs to join Carlton.

Williams was interim senior coach at the end of the season when the Bulldogs sacked Rodney Eade.

He applied for the full-time job, which went to Brendan McCartney.

Williams will join the Blues in the new position of midfield stoppage coach.

"Paul will bring to our club valuable coaching experience, particularly in relation to his stoppage knowledge in the midfield," Blues coach Brett Ratten said.

"He has had great success as a player and has been involved in successful programs, not only as a player but also a coach.

"So we are very much looking forward to having him join our coaching staff."

Williams, a 306-game player at Collingwood and Sydney, had been an assistant at the Dogs for three seasons.

Dean played 248 games for Carlton and was defensive coach at the Bulldogs for four years.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, footscray-3011, carlton-3053, vic, australia

First posted October 04, 2011 13:36:11

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AFL fans gear up for grand final

Updated September 30, 2011 17:50:05

Tens of thousands of football fans have lined the streets of Melbourne's CBD for the AFL grand final parade.

Collingwood and Geelong supporters arrived early to get the best spot to catch a glimpse of their team before tomorrow's season decider at the MCG.

People dressed in black, white and navy blue packed Swanston and Collins streets despite the gloomy weather forecast.

One fan said the parade heightens the excitement for tomorrow's game.

"Everyone seems to be so happy and enjoying themselves," he said

A procession of players, coaches and supporters slowly made its way through the CBD in front of screaming fans who chanted club songs and sang the praises of their favourite footballers.

The parade finished at the Old Treasury building, where the teams were presented to the crowd.

Magpies captain Nick Maxwell and Geelong skipper Cameron Ling held the premiership cup aloft in the hope they can do so again tomorrow.

Collingwood midfielder and Brownlow medallist Dane Swan received a loud reception, but says it was not expected.

"I don't think they're all screaming my name," he said.

Outgoing Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said he was not letting emotion get the better of him as he was driven along the parade route.

"I'm feeling very focused on what's in front of us, and that's controlling my granddaughter from jumping out of this car and then a massive game tomorrow," he said.

The Geelong coach, Chris Scott, said it was a thrill to be part of such a big parade.

"It's one of the biggest days of the year, so to be a part of it is very humbling," he said.

Diehard fans started camping outside the MCG early this morning so they can sit in the front row tomorrow.

Tags: australian-football-league, melbourne-3000

First posted September 30, 2011 11:31:52

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Malthouse parts ways with Pies

Updated October 01, 2011 20:20:29

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse will leave the AFL club immediately, saying he does not feel his planned new role would be worthwhile.

Under the succession plan that club president Eddie McGuire brokered more than two years ago, Malthouse stood down as coach after Saturday's 38-point grand final loss to Geelong.

He hands over to assistant Nathan Buckley and was supposed to stay on in a new role as director of coaching until 2014.

But it became clear this year that Malthouse was uneasy about specifics of the new role.

He said soon after Saturday's defeat that he had decided about six weeks ago not to take up the job.

McGuire said the decision did not come as a surprise and he praised Malthouse for his 12-year term as Collingwood coach, which featured last year's drought-breaking premiership.

"I know what I'm not doing, I'm not coaching and I won't be at Collingwood," Malthouse said.

"The role by name sounded pretty good, but in reality I'm not 100 per cent sure that I would be of value to the football club.

"I don't want to take money under false pretences, I think that Nathan needs space."

Malthouse also announced last Sunday that he would not coach again, despite the offers that will inevitably come from other clubs over the next couple of years.

Malthouse, 58, is ending a 40-year involvement in the game as a player and coach.

He also led Collingwood for 12 years to the 2002 and 2003 grand finals and will leave the game as a three-time premiership coach.

"The club has been fantastic about it, don't get me wrong about this, and from day one Eddie has indicated that he would like it to work," he said.

"I think along the line it all sounded good, but reality-wise, as Ed said, he would like to think Nathan will be a 10-year coach or more.

"So I think that in fairness to everyone at the football club, I think they need a fresh start and I can't give them a fresh start from my position in that role.

"It would be selfish to stay on in the role ... I just don't see any point."

Malthouse said he felt like he could be letting McGuire down by not staying on in the new role.

McGuire said he had known "for a while" that Malthouse would leave as soon as this season ended.

"We've had this conversation for a long time, it became clear to Mick that he needed a break," he said.

"It underlines what we did two years ago - Mick is finished, he's hit the wall mentally, emotionally ... he gave everything, there's no more, and the whole idea was that Mick would hit the finish line flat out.

"It would have been nice for him to stay on in the position, but I've known for a fair while that he was oscillating.

"The whole idea of why there was never anything in concrete ... is because it was very emotional, the whole thing."

McGuire said the Magpies would make announcements over the next few days, but would not confirm whether they would still have the director of coaching role without Malthouse there.

He added Buckley was "ready" to become coach.

McGuire also praised Geelong, saying it was an example for what Collingwood would need to do to bounce back from this grand final loss.

AAP

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

First posted October 01, 2011 19:38:26

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Eagles snatch SANFL grand final

Updated October 10, 2011 08:24:20

The Eagles have held on to win by just three points in the SANFL Grand Final in Adelaide.

The narrow win over Central District gave Woodville-West Torrens its second premiership in six years and it became the first side in 35 years to win the premiership after losing the qualifying final.

Eagles ruckman Craig Parry was awarded the Jack Oatey Medal for his best-on-ground performance.

Central has been in every grand final since 2000.

Tags: sanfl, sport, community-and-society, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted October 10, 2011 07:15:15

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Saad stars at AFL draft combine

Updated October 07, 2011 21:46:10

After five years of playing soccer in Egypt, Ahmed Saad returned to Australia as a 16-year-old who had never touched an AFL ball.

Another five years on, he has been one of the stars of this week's AFL draft combine.

Saad won the repeat sprint test in 23.64 seconds, the fourth-best time in combine history.

He turns 22 on Saturday and is trying to break into the AFL after an impressive season for the Northern Bullants in the second-tier VFL competition.

After returning to Australia from Egypt, Saad took up Australian rules because a friend asked him to help make up the numbers in a local team.

"When I lived here (before) obviously I watched a bit of it, but I never touched a footy before then," he said.

"When I was 16, it was pretty much the first time - I couldn't even drop punt at that age.

"I picked it up and just wanted to improve.

"My first year was pretty bad, just getting to know the game, but after that I just kept improving."

Saad kicked an accurate 50.17 this season for the Bullants and won the Fothergill-Round Medal as the VFL's best under-23 player.

"My aim to was to come here and make a name for myself," he said of the four-day combine.

"I've only been playing for five years, so I still have a lot of experience and improvement to do, but I'm willing to take the next step."

Another youngster to take a step in the right direction this week was 18-year-old Bradley Hill, the younger brother of Fremantle's Stephen.

Hill broke the combine beep test record with a score of 16.1.

AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan pointed out that most footballers do not post that high a score until they have been in the AFL system for several years.

On Friday, Hill and Will Hoskin-Elliott had a duel in the three-kilometre time trial.

They were neck-and-neck until the last lap at Docklands , when Hill pulled ahead to win by a couple of seconds in a speedy nine minutes and 52 seconds.

"I was pushed pretty hard by Elliott and I thought he had me at the end, but I had a little bit left in the tank," Hill said.

"I was saying I was pretty knackered, I had sore legs - I had a watch on, so I was telling him the time, how quick we were going.

"That was probably as quick as I could go."

The four-day combine put 120 of the country's top young players through a series of physical and psychological tests ahead of the November national draft.

Meanwhile, reigning premier Geelong hopes to recruit Jed Bews, the son of former Cats captain Andrew Bews, under the AFL's father-son rule that has served the club so well.

Two stars of last weekend's premiership win, decorated defender Matthew Scarlett and key forward Tom Hawkins, were recruited under the rule, as was dual Cats' premiership player and now Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett.

Midfielder Bews was nominated by the Cats on Friday for Monday's father-son bidding meeting.

The other two players nominated were Tom Mitchell, son of Barry, by Sydney, and Dylan Buckley, son of Jim, by Carlton.

All clubs, other than Greater Western Sydney, can bid at the meeting.

AAP

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

First posted October 07, 2011 21:46:10

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Big-name umpire dropped for AFL decider

Updated September 27, 2011 17:30:13

The AFL's highest-profile umpire, Ray Chamberlain, has been dropped for Saturday's grand final.

Chamberlain was one of the three whistle-blowers who officiated in both last year's drawn grand final between Collingwood and St Kilda and the grand final replay.

The other two, Brett Rosebury and Shaun Ryan, will again be in charge of this year's decider.

The third umpire for Saturday's match is Chris Donlon, who will be making his grand final debut.

Rosebury will be participating in his fourth grand final and Ryan in his fifth.

Umpires boss Jeff Gieschen says Chamberlain, who officiated in the Geelong-West Coast preliminary final, had been close to getting another grand final job.

"In Ray's case, he was part of the preliminary final panel and was down to the last six," Gieschen said.

"He'd be disappointed to miss today, but the bottom line is he was ranked under these guys and his season wasn't quite as consistent as these guys.

"He would know that."

Ryan says his advice to Donlon would be to umpire exactly as he had all year.

"The good thing for us as umpires is nothing changes. Free kicks are the same. The tempo of the game might pick up," he said.

"Chris has had a great year by doing the basics, being unobtrusive and paying the clear free kicks.

"That's all he needs to do on the weekend."

Goal umpire Chelsea Roffey narrowly missed out on becoming the first woman to officiate in a grand final.

She was named emergency goal umpire.

AAP

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

First posted September 27, 2011 10:23:56

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