Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

Thursday, November 29

l Bulldogs hand No.3 jumper to Andrejs Everitt
The No.3 jumper has been worn by three of the greatest figures in Western Bulldogs history, but retired star Chris Grant believes youngster Andrejs Everitt can live up to it.

It is a bold call, given the 18-year-old brother of Sydney veteran Peter Everitt is just eight matches into his AFL career.

The club offered Grant the option of having the number retire with him, but the Bulldogs' games record-holder decided to yesterday hand it to Everitt.

The decision not to retire the jumper illustrates the high expectations the club has of the key-position prospect, with the No.3 worn by Bulldogs legend Ted Whitten, captain of the club's team of the century and before that, by another former club captain and team of the century member Arthur Olliver, who played in the 1930s and 1940s and, like Whitten, once held the Bulldogs' games record.

l AFL investigator continues West Coast interviews
The AFL’s special investigator Bill Gillard QC continued interviewing several high-profile West Coast personnel in Perth on Wednesday – including midfielder Daniel Kerr, delisted Daniel Chick and chief executive Trevor Nisbett.

Justice Gillard's inquiry into the Eagles is covering a number of areas, including player behaviour and club strategies – The West Australian

l WA fitness guru goes to the Devils
After finishing last with just two wins for the season in 2007, VFL side the Tasmanian Devils have made the decision to overhaul their fitness techniques, beginning by hiring Western Australian Michael Dobbin as the club’s full-time fitness coach.

Dobbin, who previously played with WAFL club Subiaco and most recently spent time playing in the NTFL while working at the state’s institute of sport, has already taken the Devils through several gruelling fitness tests in his first week in the Apple Isle – Footygoss

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Historian James Hothersall mused from Adelaide yesterday –

There is no doubt that our game has evolved from 'the handling game'.  Despite this fact it is scurrilous to suggest the 1858 game was rugby. In reality football of 1850s was not rugby, soccer or Australian football. It was just a football game from which the Victorian game evolved.

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Wednesday, November 28

l Carlton reports first profit since 2003
The Blues announced it had bounced back in a big way on Tuesday when it posted a $2.94 million profit for the financial season ending October 31st.

It is the first off-field windfall enjoyed by the club since 2003.

Fox Sports reported debt has been reduced from $8.5m to $6.5m, while chief executive Greg Swann noted the football club result now incorporates the operations of the social club, which were transferred two months ago.

One of the features of Carlton's financial turnaround was a record membership of 35,431, up 7000 on the previous year's figure.

Swann said the Blues now aimed to have the biggest membership of any Victorian club.

n 2007 financial forecasts and results – more

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l Permission to train update
The AFL on Tuesday updated the unlisted players who have received permission to train –

Adelaide – nil

Brisbane Lions
Patrick Garner (Brisbane); William Hamill (Brisbane rookie); Pearce Hanley (Ballanghaderreen, Ireland)

Carlton
Michael Shields (County Cork Ireland)

Collingwood
Ryan Colbert (Old Xavierians); Kevin Dyas (County Armagh Ireland); Michael Griffiths (East Fremantle); Daniel Nichols (Collingwood rookie); James Wall (St Kilda rookie)

Essendon
Jarrod Atkinson (Bendigo Bombers); Ashley Arrowsmith (Calder Cannons); James Bristow (Gippsland Power); Brent Connelly (Gippsland Power); Tim Plummer (Bendigo Bombers)

Fremantle
Blake Broadhurst (Subiaco); Ryley Dunn (Fremantle); Kyal Horsley (Subiaco); Keaton McRob (East Fremantle); Calib Mourish (Fremantle)

Geelong – nil

Hawthorn
James Allen (Box Hill); Luke Barker (Box Hills); Nathan Batsanis (Port Adelaide rookie); Brett Collins (Hawthorn rookie); Joel Coombes (Box Hill); Ed Curnow (Geelong Falcons); Stefan Garrubba (Casey Scorpions); Sam Gibson (Hawthorn rookie); Jackson Hall (Gippsland Power); Adam Iacobucci (Northern Bullants); Tom Langford (Port Melbourne); Andrew McQualter (St Kilda); Lukas Markovic (Box Hill); Ryan Normington (Murray Bushrangers); Hugh Sandilands (Oakleigh Chargers); Phil Smith (Calder Cannons); Phil Zarra (Sandringham)

Kangaroos
Jarrod Bannister (Northern Bullants); David Trotter (Kangaroos); James Wilsen (St George)

Melbourne
Daniel Hughes (Melbourne rookie); Alister Neville (Coburg); Ashley Sampi (West Coast); Jonathan Simpkin (Sydney); Peter Summers (Sandringham); Shane Valenti (Sandringham); Stef Martin (Sandringham)

Port Adelaide
Jesse Aish (Norwood); Lachlan Button (Glenelg); Luke Carey (Port Magpies); Tom Carroll (South Adelaide); Ryan Darling (Sturt); Aaron Day (Glenelg); Sam Fairclough (Woodville West Torrens); Nathan Grima (Central District); Todd Grima (Geelong rookie); Daniel Havelberg (Central District); Matthew Jaensch (Sturt); Luke Jarrad (Woodville West Torrens); Scott Luders (West Adelaide); James Moss (Central District); Alan Obst (Central District); Steve Wenman (West Adelaide); Ryan Willits (West Adelaide)

Richmond
Daniel Boyle (Murray Bushrangers); Ian Callinan (Central District); Clayton Collard (East Fremantle); David Fanning (Port Melbourne); Joe Gazzo (Coburg); David Gourdis (Subiaco); Andrew Horne (Coburg); Cam Howat (Richmond rookie); Jarrod Silvester (Coburg); Will Sullivan (Western Jets); Chris Varsamakis (Eltham); Chris Waller (Beaumaris); Trent Zorner (Eastern Ranges)

St Kilda
Rohan Bail (Mt Gravatt); Michael Barlow (Shepparton United); Ben Woods (Riverview)

Sydney
Brendan Murphy (County Carlow Ireland); Matt O'Dwyer (Sydney); Jake Orreal (no previous club); Sam Rowe (Sydney)

West Coast
Ashley Thornton (West Coast rookie); Beau Wilkes (West Coast rookie)

Western Bulldogs
Cameron Lockwood (Williamstown); Scott Meyer (Williamstown); Liam Picken (Williamstown); Patrick Rose (Williamstown); Ryan Williams (La Trobe)

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

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Tuesday, November 27

l Kangaroos face Gold Coast ban
Caroline Wilson reports in The Age: The AFL will consider redrawing the 2008 fixture and pulling the Kangaroos out of Gold Coast games should they reject the league's $100 million relocation offer.

In what would prove a historic and unprecedented move, The Age understands the AFL now believes it would be impossible to expand into the northern market with the Kangaroos next season if they choose to remain a Melbourne-based club.

The AFL fixture would be altered to put in place games more attractive and saleable to the Gold Coast market.

Kangaroos chief executive Rick Aylett yesterday addressed the club's players, coach Dean Laidley and staff assuring them that the club had not rejected the AFL's proposal but wanted another year to make up its mind, plunging it into survival mode for yet another season.

With the original December 1 deadline now only days away, the view of the James Brayshaw faction is that the AFL will weaken and allow it at least another season to reach a decision, but the league has indicated it will set about creating a 17th club in the new year should the Kangaroos continue to stall – more

l AFL confirms May 10 All-Star match at MCG
As part of football’s 150th anniversary celebrations, the AFL confirmed on Monday that a one-off All-Star match between Victoria and a best of the rest ‘Dream Team’ would take place at the MCG on May 10 in 2008.

League officials named Geelong premiership coach Mark Thompson the coach of Victoria with his former Essendon mentor Kevin Sheedy as assistant for the game and Brisbane superstar Jonathan Brown skipper.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams will lead the ‘Dream Team’ with former Melbourne coach Neale Daniher as his assistant, while dual Norm Smith medallist Andrew McLeod will captain the team from all states other than Victoria.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou suggested that the match could be ‘the highest quality game that’s ever been played’, aiming to secure the 50 best players in the competition for the contest.

Squads of 35 will be picked early next season with teams of 25 players a side to be selected for the match – Footygoss

l Leon Davis suffers broken jaw in hotel attack
Collingwood's Leon Davis suffered a broken jaw when he was attacked after leaving a suburban hotel on Friday night. He underwent surgery at Epworth Hospital on Saturday and was out of hospital the following day.

Sportal reports he will miss at least two weeks training and will not resume full contact work for 4-6 weeks.

Collingwood released a statement on Monday, saying it believed the assault was unprovoked. The club did not confirm whether the police had been advised, but it is believed Davis does not want to press charges.

l George Harris dies; a leviathan of Carlton FC
Former Carlton president George Harris, one of the most significant figures in the AFL club's history, died on Monday afternoon at the Memorial Home in Heidleberg, aged 84.

Harris held the post from 1964-74 and again from 1978-80, overseeing four premierships (1968, 1970, 1972, 1979).

Current president Dick Pratt paid tribute to Harris's contribution to the club.

"With the passing of George Harris, a leviathan of the Carlton Football Club has sadly been lost," Pratt said.

"In the pantheon of Carlton's long and successful history, few men – whether director, player, member or supporter – can truly say that they gave more to Carlton than him. Everyone at Carlton extends their deepest sympathies to the Harris family, on the passing of a man whose contributions to this club may never be surpassed."

The Blues had finished 10th in 1964, then the club's worst season, when Harris came to power at the head of the 12-member Progress Party.

Carlton promptly stunned the then-VFL when they engineered the defection of Ron Barassi from Melbourne, recruiting him as captain-coach.

That defection remains one of the biggest stories in VFL-AFL history.

Barassi led the Blues to the `68 flag, their first in 21 years, and also coached Carlton to the famous `70 premiership. The Blues rallied from 44 points behind at half-time in the 1970 grand final to beat Collingwood by 10 points.

Harris also helped to further enhance the bitter rivalry between Carlton and Collingwood when the Blues beat them by less than a goal in the 1979 grand final.

He infuriated Magpies fans post-match when he declared "What's better than beating Collingwood by 10 goals? Beating them by five points."

Harris was born in St Kilda in 1922 and survived the horrors of the Changi prison camp during the Second World War.

After the war he became a dentist but pursued business interests when he first vacated the presidency in 1974.

Then-Federal Treasurer Jim Cairns was dismissed from the position in 1975, after misleading parliament over allegations he had authorised Harris to pursue overseas loans for the government.

Harris's second presidency at Carlton ended with a bitter power struggle at board level in February, 1980.

A stroke left him mute in 1991 and he suffered from health problems for many years.

But he remained a passionate Blues fan and received a standing ovation when he attended a function for Carlton premiership players three years ago.

In February this year, Harris sent a letter to struggling Carlton urging the club to "please get your act together".

"I wish I could help. I can't, but my heart is still strong and it will always remain true Blue," he said.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced, but a service will be held at Carlton's home at Princes Park.

Harris's wife Jean died in 1999.

He is survived by four children – Ken, Andrew, Christine and Robert – eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren – Yahoo! Sport

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n Minor time changes have been made to starts of 2008 matches – new times:

Round 3 – 5.10pm AEDT, Subiaco, West Coast v Fremantle
Round 3 – 8.10pm(n) AEDT, BCG (Gabba) Brisbane v Sydney

Round 9 – 7.40pm(n), MCG, Essendon v Richmond

The changes on Saturday April 5th are due to daylight savings which ends in Perth on March 30 but goes a further week until April 6th in the Eastern states when all clocks will return to standard time.

The time change from 7.10 to 7.40pm will allow for pre-match entertainment for the "Dreamtime at the G" event before the Essendon v Richmond game.

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

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Monday, November 26

l Printing glitch causes AFL embarrassment
The AFL has apologised for a printing error that has affected the privacy of potentially hundreds of its members.

The Age reports the league said it had already heard from 140 members who have received renewal forms that contain private details of other people.

"The AFL has been made aware that personal details such as name, email address, date of birth and phone numbers of some AFL members have been printed on the renewal forms of another member," the league said in a statement.

"The AFL is currently trying to ascertain how many members have been affected by this error, which occurred in the digital printing process at the mailhouse Printpoint, resulting in some personal contact details of some members appearing in renewal invoices addressed to another member.

"AFL Chief Commercial and Broadcasting Officer Gillon McLachlan said it appeared the error occurred in several batches of renewals that were mailed to AFL members over the past week although the exact number of members affected is not yet known.

"So far 140 members have rung to notify the AFL of the error."

McLachlan said the league apologised "unreservedly" for the privacy breach.

The league also said the breach did not affect financial information, such as credit card details.

Printpoint manager director Alan Rhodes also issued a statement, offering an "unreserved apology" for what he described as a "mechanical malfunction".

"We are working with the hardware suppliers to ascertain how this could have possibly happened," he added.

"We are concerned and regretful that this has happened and we are working positively with the AFL to rectify this problem.

"The information and data provided to us by the AFL was in the correct format and secure.

"I assure all AFL members that their personal details remain secure and no other incidents have occurred outside of the printing error."

The AFL has also asked that any members who receive renewals with other people's details call the league.

l Sheedy fast-tracked to Bombers' Hall of Fame
Essendon will forego the usual induction criteria and will elevate veteran former coach Kevin Sheedy to the club's Hall of Fame early in the new year.

Stephen Rielly reports in The Age: Having put behind them the months of controversy that surrounded Sheedy's departure after 27 years and survived even a grassroots bid to oust chairman Ray Horsburgh and chief executive Peter Jackson because of it, the Dons have arranged with Sheedy a public rapprochement that it hopes will douse whatever fire remains over his exit.

Candidates for induction into the Essendon hall of fame are usually required to wait five years before they can be considered, but Horsburgh said yesterday that Sheedy would not be put on hold.

The Essendon AGM is scheduled for December 17th when the club will present its profit figures of $2.014m for the 2007 season which were announced last Thursday.

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

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Sunday, November 25

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n The Australian Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd emphatically won Saturday's federal election for the House of Representatives recording a 5.6 per cent swing against the 11½-year dominance of the Liberal-National Party coalition of John Howard. At close of counting on Saturday night the PM appears to have lost his seat of Bennelong he had represented for 33 years. Howard (the second longest-serving Australian Prime Minister) is only the second PM to have lost his constituency while in office – Stanley Melbourne Bruce did so in 1929.

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

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Saturday, November 24

AFL NAB 2007 Draft
Kreuzer to Carlton; Tigers get Cotchin
St Kilda regain Fraser Gehrig with pick 57

Carlton predictably took 18-year-old ruckman Matthew Kreuzer with the number one selection at the AFL NAB draft conducted in Melbourne on Saturday morning.

ABC Sport Online reported the Blues were always expected to select the highly regarded Kreuzer, who stands at just under 200 centimetres tall.

Kreuzer, who played for the Northern Knights in the Victorian under 18 competition, is the third number one draft pick to join the Blues in as many seasons following the club's selection of Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

His Knights' team-mate Trent Cotchin was selected by Richmond with the number two overall pick while West Coast also followed the pre-draft form guide and chose local junior Chris Masten at number three with its opening selection.

The Eagles were only able to enter the draft as high as number three as part of the trade deal that saw their premiership captain Chris Judd move to the Blues.

Melbourne also looked west when it selected midfielder Cale Morton with the number four pick while the Bulldogs invested in local Victorian talent with the recruitment of Dandenong Stingrays forward Jarrad Grant.

Meanwhile, Fraser Gehrig will re-join St Kilda in 2008 despite retiring at the end of the season.

Gehrig announced his intention to apply for the draft earlier this week and the Saints selected the ageing forward at number 57 in addition to taking Murray Bushrangers ruckman Ben McEvoy with pick nine.

The list of all draft selections – more

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l Kangaroo fans show defiance against move north
Kangaroo fans have accused the AFL of "over-stating" its incentive package for the club to move north to the Gold Coast.

Yahoo! Sport reported members of the "We Are North Melbourne" supporters group on Thursday met with league officials to discuss its package, designed to encourage the Roos to move north.

The group claims the AFL's stated figure of more than $100 million should actually be reduced by half, as the Kangaroos would be entitled to over $50 million regardless of whether they moved to south-east Queensland.

The group claims the AFL would be allocating $50.7 million to the Kangaroos from 2008-14 in normal distribution funding, which would drastically reduce the size of the relocation package.

The supporters group, which is now firmly in favour of the Kangaroos board voting against relocation and staying in Melbourne, fears the club would lose its identity if it moved to the Gold Coast.

The Kangaroos board must decide between accepting the AFL's relocation package and staying in Melbourne.

Those on the Kangaroos board opposed to relocation have found backers pledging to spend up to $10 million in capital and $2 million in sponsorship.

The board has another two weeks to notify the AFL of its decision.

In the meantime a *Roo-sistence* campaign will feature a special event at Princes Bandroom in St Kilda next Thursday – click here to find out more ...

l League: rulebook to be left alone
The AFL announced Friday that no major changes will be made to the laws of the game for season 2008.

Even with the hands-in-the-back rule still a hot talking point, the League will see the rule remains in place without alteration in the new year.

The AFL has telegraphed they will focus on three specific areas next season – how the interchange bench is used, the deliberately *rushed* behind and the deliberate out of bounds rules will be analysed.

For the record two minor rule changes have been made:
EMERGENCY UMPIRE ABILITY TO END QUARTERS
* Rule 10.4.2 amended to read:
“Play in each quarter shall come to an end when any one of the field Umpires or emergency field Umpires hears the siren.”

RELOCATION OF CENTRE SQUARE AND CIRCLE
* Rule 4.3 amended to read:
“Where a Controlling Body is satisfied that the area within the Centre Square and Centre Circle will prevent the bouncing of the football or is otherwise in an unsuitable condition, it may direct the relocation of the Centre Square and or Centre Circle.”

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Briefly ...
n Traded, Retired, Delisted, Acquired – more
n 2007 financial forecasts and results – more
n Oz-Wide, Premiers, Medals, Media Awards – more
n 2007 Club Champions, Best & Fairest awards – more

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Friday, November 23

l Collingwood launch radical Queensland plan
Caroline Wilson in Thursday's Age reported Collingwood on Wednesday launched a radical plan to become the AFL's team on the Gold Coast with a proposal to play up to six games at Carrara as early as next season.

Eddie McGuire and his chief executive Gary Pert met AFL chiefs Mike Fitzpatrick and Andrew Demetriou and put forward the rival bid, assuring the AFL it would step into a new-look Gold Coast agreement should the Kangaroos reject the $100 million offer to move there.

McGuire, as long as four years ago, indicated interest in a push into the southern Queensland market but has been repeatedly told that the AFL wanted a permanently based team in the fast-growing region.

However, the Kangaroos' reluctance to commit to a move, due to their divided board and unwilling shareholders has seen the Magpies put forward an alternative.

It is understood that Fitzpatrick and Demetriou did not reject the offer out of hand following McGuire's insistence that the club's strong following in the region could prove a viable alternative for the AFL even without a permanent relocation – more
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This has prompted regular Footystats reader Leonard Colquhoun to comment:
Surely Caroline Wilson is having us on in this article? – especially in this paragraph:

"Should the, albeit left-field, offer by Collingwood be considered, the Magpies only interstate games would most likely take place at Carrara or the Gabba. "

Isn't it about time that the claim that 'we will play all our interstate games only at X' is rubbished for the nonsense that it is ?
 
It depends on the six clubs in WA, SA, Qld and NSW giving up their home games!!!    Get real, and stop pulling us, Eddie.
 
Carlton suggested this try-on as its 'solution' to the Sydney problem in the early 1990s.
 
Please, can someone with clout finally knock this recurrent stupidity on the head once and for all???!!!
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l Kangaroos get space to consider alternatives
Yahoo! Sport reports the AFL is committed to waiting until it hears from the Kangaroos before considering other possible ventures into the Gold Coast, such as that raised by Collingwood.

While the Kangaroos weighed up their options over whether to relocate north or stay in Melbourne, one of their rivals approached the league and inquired about playing in south-east Queensland if the Roos stay put.

Collingwood on Wednesday met with the AFL and discussed the possibility of playing six games at Carrara, possibly as early as next season.

But the AFL said it would not be entertaining any alternate ventures until it had heard from the Kangaroos, who have about a fortnight to decide whether to relocate.

The Kangaroos board must decide between accepting the AFL's $100 million relocation package and ensuring their long-term financial survival, and staying in Melbourne.

Those on the Kangaroos board opposed to relocation have found backers pledging to spend up to $10 million in capital and $2 million in sponsorship.

Kangaroos chief executive Ricky Aylett said the board was still weighing up the two proposals and had another two weeks to notify the AFL of its decision.

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l Essendon and Richmond post record profits
l Melbourne profit but well under expectations
Essendon and Richmond are the latest clubs to announce financial profit for the year ending October 31st in spite of both finishing in the lower half of the ladder.

The Bombers secured a net profit of $2.014m. Wooden spooners Richmond finished in the black by $1.031m.

Melbourne yesterday posted a profit of $96,689 – way under expectations and possibly impacted by an extraordinary run of injuries.

Meanwhile, The Age in an article relating to the move to Frankston in 2010 noted St Kilda expect a loss of some $300,000 on the trading year.

n 2007 financial forecasts and results – more

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Briefly ...
n Traded, Retired, Delisted, Acquired – more
n 2007 financial forecasts and results – more
n Oz-Wide, Premiers, Medals, Media Awards – more
n 2007 Club Champions, Best & Fairest awards – more

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