Thursday, March 13

Combined profits top $26.8 million
Club revenue up 15 per cent to $512.7 million

Profits of the combined 16 AFL clubs in 2007 reached almost $27 million, the highest aggregate profit in the history of the game.

The Age reports AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou released the results of the club financial review survey which showed club profitability grew from $11 million in 2006 to the record figure of $26.8 million last year, while AFL club revenue increased by 15 per cent to $512.7 million.

Demetriou said the clubs continued to work extremely hard to increase revenue and to maintain cost levels and that 15 clubs had recorded a profit for the 2007 year.

However, four clubs still had negative assets at the end of 2007 and he said the AFL's aim was to work closely with the clubs to help all 16 secure long-term financial security.

Demetriou said it remained a concern for the competition that the revenue gap between the clubs that generate the most revenue and those that generate the least revenue continues to grow.

The total revenue gap between the biggest and smallest clubs was $11 million in 2007.

"The average AFL club now employs 98 staff, including players but excluding non-football staff, while football department expenditure increased by 10 per cent over the last 12 months," he said.

l Warren Tredrea stays as Port captain
Port Adelaide premiership captain Warren Tredrea has been named as the Power’s captain for another season.

The 29-year-old three-time club champion and four-time All-Australian has struggled with injury in recent times, but fought back to become a key figure in Port’s run to the Grand Final in 2007, kicking 31 goals from 20 games last year.

Tredrea, who is the games and goals record holder at Alberton, was officially made captain of the Power in 2006, taking the reins from Matthew Primus. Shaun Burgoyne, Brendon Lade and Chad Cornes will continue as vice-captains.

l Riewoldt made solo captain of St Kilda
St Kilda announced Wednesday that Nick Riewoldt will be the sole captain for the 2008 AFL season.

The Saints have dropped their co-captaincy structure, which had Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Luke Ball leading the team last year.

Ball decided to stand down as captain a few weeks ago and Hayes will now be vice-captain.

The Saints are the last AFL club to finalise their captaincy ahead of Thursday night's official AFL season launch.

l Danny Jacobs hangs up the boots
A nagging hip injury has caused Hawthorn defender Danny Jacobs to call it quits on the eve of the 2008 AFL season.

The former Essendon key position player managed only 18 games in the past two seasons at the Hawks. He played 126 league games in total – 81 with the Bombers (1999-2003) and 45 with the Hawks (2004-07).

The impressive youngster Xavier Ellis will wear Jacob’s No. 8 guernsey this year.

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l Does pre-season form carry over?
St Kilda's win in the NAB Cup is expected to give the team a lift when the premiership season starts next week. The records show sometimes it helps, other times it doesn't ...

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l League names five new umpires
Five new umpires from four different states are to be added to the senior list. Senior list positions have been offered to Jason Armstrong (Qld), Todd Keating (WA), Jacob Mollison (Vic), Heath Ryan (Vic) and Shane Stewart (Tas).

Four other umpires were offered rookie contract positions; Corey Bowen (SA), Robert Findlay (Vic), Sam Hay (SA) and Gavin Statham (WA).

The AFL webpage noted: AFL Umpiring department manager Jeff Gieschen congratulated all the development umpires who had been part of the pre-season trial process and wanted to pay tribute to the various state league umpiring departments for their work in ensuring umpires were progressing to AFL ranks.

"We are delighted with the young umpiring talent we have coming through the ranks from state league football and all should be extremely proud of how they have conducted themselves through the rookie trial period," Gieschen said.

The umpiring appointments for round one will be announced next Wednesday, March 19, with weekly appointments confirmed every Thursday through the regular season.

l Melbourne: nomadic training existence set to end
Demons eye Casey Fields at Cranbourne
The Age reports, Melbourne, without a permanent training base until round four of the season, is in negotiations that could lead it to establish a summer training base at Casey Fields in Cranbourne.

But the Demons say they are still committed to their training and administrative base in the Olympic Park precinct, and would be using Cranbourne only as a summer venue that would enable them to avoid the homelessness that has bedevilled the club at Junction Oval.

Jake Niall and Caroline Wilson report the Demons have been training at a variety of venues recently while the Junction Oval is occupied by cricket, which will keep Melbourne off its training ground – where its football headquarters also are located – until round four.

The club says this nomadic existence cannot continue, with the team having flitted between Trinity Grammar, Sandringham, Whitten Oval and even Victoria Park.

Melbourne football operations manager Chris Connolly has inspected Casey Fields in recent days, along with board member John Phillips.

The delay in securing the Olympic Park precinct base – it is not expected to be finished until late 2009 or early 2010, and there is still much work to do to finalise a tenancy deal – and the absence of a training base until round four has added urgency to the club's discussions over Casey Fields.

Melbourne's proposed deal with the City of Casey, which also held serious discussions with St Kilda before the Saints signed a deal to move to Frankston, will be dealt with at the next board meeting.

n Please check the City of Casey website which details the location of Casey Fields together with a Melways map link.

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Worth noting ...
n Traded, Retired, Delisted, Acquired – more
n 2007 financial forecasts and results – more

n NAB Cup 2008 Match Review and details – more
n Tribunal 2008 – more
n Footystats Classifieds – more

Wednesday, March 12

l Demons suspend and fine Colin Sylvia
Melbourne midfielder Colin Sylvia has been suspended for a week and fined $5,000 for missing a player curfew and failing to attend a compulsory recovery session on Sunday.

The Demons issued a brief statement saying Sylvia had missed the player-imposed curfew of 1am on Sunday and subsequently training.

Sylvia will miss the season opener against Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday week.

Captain David Neitz said in the statement: "This is disappointing for Colin and the playing group. Colin has been in very good form over the pre-season competition after completing his best pre-season to-date."

Sylvia, the No. 3 pick in the 2003 draft, was one of the club's form players leading into the season opener. His suspension came after a series of other pre-season problems at the club, with bar room incidents in Greece and Germany involving Brock McLean and Nathan Carroll – Yahoo! Sport

l Blues will miss Andrew Walker for three months
Carlton midfielder Andrew Walker will miss the first half of the 2008 AFL season after it was revealed surgery is required on his injured right shoulder.

Walker sustained the injury in the practice match against the Bulldogs last Friday and has had a history of shoulder problems, suffering a dislocation of the same shoulder in Round 12 last year.

He underwent surgery late last year on his right shoulder, but will now visit the operating table once again – Footygoss

l MRP dismiss three charges
Melbourne’s Russell Robertson, Carlton’s Marc Murphy and Adelaide's Bernie Vince are free to play in Round 1 next week after the Match Review Panel on Tuesday cleared match day reports from the weekend.

Robertson faced a charge of front on contact to the Kangaroos’ Andrew Swallow, but the MRP viewed the high-flying forward had little option but top make incidental high contact to the Kanga midfielder.

Murphy was cleared of a similar charge on the Western Bulldogs’ Mitch Hahn with the MRP describing the contact as ‘unavoidable’.

Vince's collision with St Kilda's Xavier Clarke, in during Q3 of the NAB Cup playoff was flagged to the MRP. The inevitable contact – from Vince jumping in an attempt to spoil Clarke's successful kick at goal and Clarke being pushed forward by Adelaide midfielder Jason Porplyzia – did not even merit explanation, from either Vince or the MRP

l David Wojcinski has finger surgery
Geelong premiership defender David Wojcinski will miss the premiership opener against Port Adelaide on March 20 after undergoing surgery on a tendon on his little finger. Wojcinski suffered the injury in Friday's practice match against Richmond.

l Tigers ink Shane Tuck to new two-year deal
On-baller Shane Tuck has signed a new two-year deal with Richmond.

The 26-year-old son of former Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck has played 69 games for the Tigers since making his debut in 2004 and finished third in the Tigers’ club champion award last year – Footygoss

l Port cops $3000 fine for 19th player
Port Adelaide are the second club in a week to receive an AFL fine for having too many players on the field. The League announced it had penalised Port $3000 for having 19 men on the ground at the start of Q3 in the March 1 practice match against Collingwood at Princes Park. Brett Ebert spent the first 30 seconds of Q3 as Port's 19th player before the error was realised.

Last week, Hawthorn received a $7500 fine after Brent Guerra was their 19th man on the field early in the last term of their NAB Cup semi-final loss to Adelaide.

l Victorian Government adds $3.4m to Frankston plan
St Kilda’s move to Frankston Oval in 2010 has received a major boost with the Victorian State Government adding $3.45 million to the proposed $10 million redevelopment of the training complex.

Footygoss noted the facility will house a state of the art high-performance gymnasium, a rehabilitation pool, a lecture theatre, meeting rooms and an indoor sports hall and is expected to become a massive part of the Frankston community.

The historic old grandstand at the oval was burned to the ground in the early hours of February 13th.

l North Melbourne membership tops 2006 record
Mike Sheahan reports in the Herald Sun that North Melbourne's membership climbed to 24,841 yesterday, eclipsing the club's previous best of 24,624 in 2006.

North's strong improvement leaves it just 3500 behind Hawthorn, which has been perhaps the most innovative of the Victorian clubs in membership in recent years.

The Roos are also ahead of Richmond (24,363) and Melbourne (19,415) on the membership scoreboard.

l AFL nears introducing third boundary umpire
The AFL umpiring department has recommended the introduction of three boundary umpires for the premiership season proper. Under the trial format during the NAB Cup, one umpire is assigned to each side of the ground, with the extra umpire swapping sides after each goal.

It has reduced errors and seen fewer occasions where umpires have been caught behind play.

Jon Ralph reports in the Herald Sun: AFL umpires' manager Jeff Gieschen said rules introduced to speed up the game had also made it harder for umpires to cover the ground. He told the AFL website yesterday the umpiring department would rather see all three umpires used in matches rather than have one in reserve.

While there have been trials of four central umpires in recent years, momentum to introduce an extra field umpire has slowed.

The umpiring department felt there was no point experimenting with four field umpires when the league executive showed no signs of making a change.

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Tuesday, March 11

Melbourne's chief executive
Paul McNamee and Michael Conlan vie for post

Paul McNamee, a former  tennis player on the ATP tour and one of the country's best-known sports administrators and Michael Conlan, the former Fitzroy player and ex-AFL marketing executive are the leading contenders to become Melbourne's chief executive.

Jake Niall and Caroline Wilson report in The Age: Conlan, an executive for Reebok's Asia Pacific division based in Seoul, is believed to be among the final short list of three candidates, vying with Australian Open golf boss Paul McNamee and Geelong's chief financial officer Stuart Fox.

Geelong's Fox is the other main candidate, having been strongly recommended by Cats' chief executive Brian Cook, who has spoken favourably of his lieutenant to the AFL and suggested that Fox should succeed him at Geelong.

Conlan worked at the AFL under Ben Buckley, dealing with major sponsorships such as Coca-Cola and Fosters, and his strong relationships with Andrew Demetriou and Gillon McLachlan would be in his favour. Conlan coached the Melbourne University Blues in the amateurs in 2002, when McLachlan — the AFL's head of broadcasting and commercial operations — captained the club. McLachlan played a role in recruiting Conlan to Uni Blues – more

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Monday, March 10

Demetriou: Way is clear for Cousins to return

AFL Chief executive Andrew Demetriou says the League won't stand in the way if Ben Cousins chooses to return to the field in 2008 at a lower level.

Sportal notes that the Sunday Herald Sun revealed on Sunday that Cousins met with Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse on Friday, who was coach at West Coast when the 2005 Brownlow Medallist made his debut.

And having indicated he believes it 'would probably be a good thing' for Cousins to play at some level this year, Demetriou said it is not for the AFL to decide if the 29-year-old would be allowed to turn out for the Magpies' reserves team in the VFL this year.

"We've made it clear that the decision for any league is purely on their league and their constitution and what rules they have to admit players playing in their competition," Demetriou said on Sunday.

"So whether it's the VFL ... I know the WAFL have looked at it ... if he wanted to play in the SANFL ... that will be a decision purely for the local competition."

"He could (play for Collingwood in the VFL), if AFL Victoria, through their rules and their constitution, deem it to be appropriate."

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NAB Cup unveils Adelaide find
l Kurt Tippett: Basketball convert shows promise
Adelaide may have come up short again in its latest run at the pre-season cup, but the team is quietly optimistic that it may have found an important piece to its forward puzzle in basketball convert Kurt Tippett.

Andrew McGarry noted in The Australian: The Crows have lacked a big, physical forward, relying on pinch-hitting efforts from part-timers such as ruckman Rhett Biglands, but a crowd of 26,893 at may have seen a glimpse of their team's future on Saturday night.

Tippett was the star forward of the grand final, kicking four goals, and he was runner-up for the Michael Tuck Medal to St Kilda's Jason Gram.

The 21-year-old was almost too much of a good thing, as Adelaide seemed fixated on kicking to wherever the 201cm forward was standing.

St Kilda soon worked out the tactic and surrounded him with defenders, stifling the Crows' attack. However Tippett's mobility, his crashing of packs and ability to take tough marks will have pleased everyone at West Lakes.

Crows utility Nathan Bock yesterday acknowledged that Tippett had made an impact.

"Kurt was very impressive up forward – his contested marking was probably the highlight. We haven't had a key forward able to take that many contested marks in quite a while," Bock said.

"He's still very raw to the game – I think when he got drafted, he had only played about 35 games of football (in Queensland). He's got a basketball background and he's still developing as a player, but from what he's shown so far, there are some really promising signs."

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon warned earlier against complacency and the view that Adelaide's young side could not match it with the visitors.

In particular, he was cautious about any advantage St Kilda might have in the ruck, where the Crows had Ivan Maric and Jonathon Griffin up against Michael Gardiner and Steven King.

Lyon was proved right, with Maric, Griffin and tall defender Brad Moran combining for 38 hitouts, compared to just 21 for Michael Gardiner and Steven King.

l Sam Newman will make full recovery
Channel Nine personality Sam Newman is likely to make a full recovery from surgery to remove his cancerous prostate in a Melbourne hospital last week. The 62-year-old Newman, who played 300 VFL games for Geelong between 1964 and 1980, was diagnosed three weeks ago after a routine blood test for cholesterol levels.

Newman was told the cancer was confined by his urologist, Dr Laurence Harewood, who delivered the good news last Wednesday at Newman's bedside at the Epworth Hospital in Box Hill.

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Sunday, March 9

NAB Cup
Saints squeak home for the silverware
St Kilda won the NAB Cup pre-season grand final in a low-scoring encounter amid sweltering conditions in the mid-30's against the Crows at Football Park on Saturday evening. The city of Adelaide is in the grip of the longest heat-wave since 1934.

The Saints with a late goal from Stephen Milne finished off with a five point win.

ABC Sport reported: Saints coach Ross Lyon says he was happy with the toughness his players showed in the heat.

"They could have found reasons to not compete as hard as they did tonight, it was hot and difficult and there was limited interchange," he told Fox Sports.

"They lifted when they needed to and that put a smile on my face."

Young centre half-forward Kurt Tippett was a focal point for the Crows, hauling in six marks for a return of four majors.

But the Saints staged a resurgence to lead by 20 points midway through the third quarter, with Jason Gram, Nick Riewoldt and Xavier Clarke booting goals.

Despite the home side grabbing the lead briefly in the final term, St Kilda were too strong and Milne kicked his third goal to seal the match for the Saints.

Gram took out the Michael Tuck Medal for best on ground, picking up 19 kicks and 14 handballs.

Lyon says winning interstate twice during the pre-season was a real positive, as was the contribution of his youngsters.

"Jarryn Geary was under pressure on Simon Goodwin at the end and he really stood up, and obviously the two new ruckmen, Steven King and Michael Gardiner really stood up as did Adam Schneider," he said.

n NAB 2008 Match Review and details – more

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NAB (Week 4)
Regional Challenge series

Judd debuts with 20 touches in Carlton win
p Carlton captain Chris Judd got through his first game with Blues to a 10-point win over the Bulldogs in a late Friday practice match at Princes Park. He showed no signs of the groin injury which hampered him late last season grabbing 20 possessions as Carlton prevailed. But the Blues have some worries out of the match with promising youngster Marc Murphy reported after a nasty collision with Mitch Hahn while defender Andrew Walker re-injured his troublesome shoulder.
Carlton 13.15-93 (Fevola 4, Edwards 3) best, Murphy, Fevola, Kreuzer, West.B'dogs 12.12-84 (Welsh 3) best, Akermanis, Johnson, Higgins.
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Shane Stewart, Stuart Wenn, Hayden Kennedy.
Friday at Princes Park: 10,137.
Report: Marc Murphy (Car) for head high contact against Mitch Hahn (WB).

Cats smash the Tigers again
p Geelong destroyed Richmond by 72 points in their final practice match at Kardinia Park on Friday afternoon. Eight-goals-to-two in Q2 into the wind set up the win for the Cats, who were fielding 16 members of last year's premiership side. The Cats had winners all over the ground against last year's wooden spooners. Led by James Kelly and Brownlow medallist James Bartel in the middle, Geelong's run and attacking game plan proved unstoppable. With Luke McGuane, Jay Schulz and Graham Polak all missing for the Tigers, Cameron Mooney dominated in attack, hauling in plenty of marks and booting four goals. Gary Ablett and Matthew Scarlett made successful returns for the Cats, while Brent Prismall and Ryan Gamble enhanced their claims for selection for round one.
Geelong 23.11-155 (Mooney 4, Gamble 3) best, Mooney, Gamble, Ablett,  Richmond 12.5-77 (Richardson 3) best, Simmonds, Howat, Tambling.
Umpires: not published
Friday at Kardinia Park: 10,000 (est.)

Eagle forwards work hard in narrow win over Bombers
p The Bombers looked home when Damian Peverill goaled 11 minutes into Q3 and they were 26 points ahead but a flurry of three goals in 10 minutes from Ashley Hansen put the Eagles back in the game. Though the Dons lost narrowly they would be satisfied that Matthew Lloyd and Dustin Fletcher each got through half a game. Brent Stanton starred for the Bombers with 36 disposals and four goals. A 50-metre penalty against Peverill gifted David Wirrpanda with the winning goal.
West Coast 15.10-100 (Hansen 5) best, Hansen, Cox, Embley, Essendon 14.10-94 (Stanton 4) best, Stanton, Hille, Houli.
Umpires: tba
Friday night at Subiaco Oval: 9,312.

Magpies lift to beat Hawks in Shepparton
p In a scrappy affair on Friday night at Deakin Reserve in Shepparton, the game opened up in the second half when Dane Swan and brothers Rhyce and Heath Shaw were in good touch for the Pies, while Travis Cloke ran hot and cold in front of the big sticks. The Hawks wouldn't be too unhappy with their performance, the only concern being a rolled ankle for Campbell Brown who was crunched in the opening minutes and took no further part.
Collingwood 16.12-108 (Didak 3, Rocca 3) best, Swan, Pendlebury, R.Shaw, Hawthorn 13.12-90 (Franklin 3) best, Bateman, Birchall, Hodge.
Umpires: Simon Meredith, Ray Chamberlain, Chris Donlon, Mathew James.
Friday night at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton: 9.500 (est.)

Lions by 10 points over Swans in Canberra
p Neither side dominated a largely scrappy encounter, but a couple of late goals to the Lions gave them victory by 10 points in fine conditions on Saturday afternoon in Canberra. Brisbane's Robert Copeland was twice awarded 50-metre penalties and took both opportunities from the goal square. It was the difference in a game neither side ever gained the ascendancy in, and the occasional cameo from dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes and Brisbane's mercurial Jonathan Brown thrilled the crowd in the capital. Sydney full-forward Barry Hall was a late scratching but coach Paul Roos said there was no major injury scare just a "creaky old back".
Brisbane 14.13-97 (Charman 3) best, Charman, Brown, Proud, Sydney 13.9-87 (Moore 3) best, Goodes, Jack, Barlow.
Umpires: not published.
Saturday at Manuka Oval: 2,264.

Kangaroos too good for hapless Demons
p North Melbourne romped to a 51-point victory over the Demons at Casey Fields in Cranbourne on Saturday. Aaron Edwards was the standout with four goals for the Kangas, who handed Melbourne their fourth pre-season defeat. Small forward Lindsay Thompson provided good support in the North forward line, booting two majors. Demons forward Russell Robertson kicked four goals but may have a nervous week after being reported for high contact in the final term – his second booking in as many weeks.
North Melbourne 22.13-145 (Edwards 4) best, McIntosh, Edwards, Simpson, Melbourne 14.10-94 (Robertson 4) best, Jones, Buckley, McDonald.
Umpires: Stephen McBurney, Hayden Kennedy, Damien Sully.
Saturday at Casey Fields, Cranbourne: 2,500 (est)
Report: Russell Robertson (Mel) reported by umpire Damien Sully for making forceful front-on contact to Andrew Swallow (NM) in Q4.

Better prepared Port slam Dockers in 39C at Noarlunga
p Port Adelaide in oppressive heat crushed Fremantle by 56 points in their Saturday afternoon AFL practice match in at Noarlunga, south of Adelaide. Both sides played close to full-strength line-ups but the Power looked the better prepared, running all over the Dockers in the third term to set-up the win. Warren Tredrea was superb for the Power kicking three goals, while Steven Salopek, Danyle Pearce and Daniel Motlop also looked good. For the Dockers, Byron Schammer and Heath Black as a pair stood out.
Port Adelaide 16.15-111 (Tredrea 3, Pearce 3, Ebert 3) best, Tredrea, Salopek, Cassisi, Fremantle 8.7-55 (Pavlich 2, Tarrant 2) best, Schammer, Black, Johnson.
Umpires: Michael Avon, Gary Fila, Matt Stevic.
Saturday at Hickinbotham Oval, Noarlunga: 3,014

Sunday, March 9

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Saturday, March 8

AFL investigation
Paul Roos cleared of failing to perform on merit

Late Friday it was announced an AFL investigation had cleared Sydney coach Paul Roos of trying to affect the result of a pre-season match.

Under the League's rules, Roos could have faced the maximum penalty of indefinite suspension and a $100,000 fine.

Former president of the Victorian Court of Appeal, Justice John Winneke, conducted the investigation on Thursday and cleared the premiership coach of any breach of the AFL's rules.

The AFL said in a statement: "Mr Justice Winneke concluded there was nothing before him that 'would or could lead him to the conclusion that any words uttered by Roos during the course of the game between Sydney and Hawthorn on February 17 at Launceston were uttered with a purpose of intentionally inducing or encouraging any player to perform otherwise than on his merits'."

The specific rule under which the investigation was launched was Gambling 19.3 (v) which states: "being a Player, Coach or assistant Coach fail to perform on their merits, or induce or encourage any Player, Coach or assistant Coach not to perform on their merits, in any Match for any reason whatsoever."

Close to the final siren, Roos was standing on the boundary line and allegedly told Jarrad McVeigh to "go forward, just don't kick a goal".

Sydney lost the match by less than a goal.

The AFL Coaches Association (AFLCA) was delighted with the outcome of the investigation.

"Paul Roos is a man of the highest integrity and never at any stage did his peers in the AFL Coaches Association have anything but the utmost support and belief in him with regards to this investigation," AFL Coaches Association President Neale Daniher said in a statement – Yahoo! Sport

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l Hawks fined $7,500 for 'extra man'
The AFL have fined Hawthorn $7,500 for fielding an extra man in the opening minutes of the last quarter of the NAB Cup semi-final against Adelaide at Football Park last Saturday night. The club immediately removed Brent Guerra when they realised the mistake and alerted the League of their error. A heavier fine may have been handed down had it been a premiership match – Footygoss

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Friday, March 7

Some things take time ...
Footy Works updates available soon

The move to regularly provide *Footy Works* updates through Footystats is taking a little longer than expected – please bear with us.

l Scott Burns to captain Collingwood
Collingwood will be captained by veteran Scott Burns in 2008, the club announced on Thursday.

The 33-year-old replaces retired Brownlow medallist Nathan Buckley and becomes the club’s 44th captain.

“It’s a big honour, but I don’t feel like I’m out there in front of anyone,” a humble Burns said flanked by coach Mick Malthouse and president Eddie McGuire at the Lexus Centre at Olympic Park in Melbourne.

The former Norwood player with 247 games experience (1995-2007) will be assisted by four deputies in Tarkyn Lockyer, Josh Fraser, Nick Maxwell and Scott Pendlebury.

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l SANFL view two options for Football Park
Michelangelo Rucci reports in The Advertiser: The SANFL on Thursday declared there were only two options to consider for the future of AFL and major sports in Adelaide. They were:

u A new stadium costing at least $800 million at West Lakes, or $1 billion in the city centre. The new arena would be built to meet the modern demands for multi-sport venues as was Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.

u A refit of the 34-year-old Football Park costing at least $150 million. This could reach as much as $200 million if the West Lakes arena is to host soccer matches in 2018 for the World Cup.

The SANFL's preferred option is the upgrade.

The League wants state and federal government support in upgrading Football Park to be the centrepiece of any SA bid for major sporting events – more

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l Ashley Hansen and Simon Madden to AFLPA exec
West Coast premiership forward Ashley Hansen has joined the executive committee of the AFL Players’ Association.

The 25-year-old replaces retired Port Adelaide premiership defender Darryl Wakelin who has now taken on a position on the Power board.

Former Essendon champion Simon Madden was also added to the executive committee on Thursday.

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