Thursday, May 15

Gold Coast franchise
Michael Voss: a step closer to coach

Brisbane's former captain and triple premiership player Michael Voss has moved a step closer to being appointed coach of the new Gold Coast franchise after meeting with the bid's leaders on Wednesday.

During a four-hour meeting Voss, who played 289 games for the Bears and the Lions (1992-2006), was appointed as a consultant to work on how the franchise's inaugural playing list might be put together.

The bid team – known as GC17 – last month officially applied to be granted the AFL's 17th team licence, in 2011.

Voss has continually been touted the best man to lead the new side given his playing achievements, coaching desire and profile in south-east Queensland.

GC17 head John Witheriff described the meeting as a "useful, positive discussion" and said Voss had agreed to work with the bid team's football committee to consider how it might compile a playing list, which would incorporate the league's mooted draft concessions.

"Michael has agreed to work with those guys and I expect we'll get the benefit of his expertise in assisting us putting together some submissions," Witheriff said.

GC17 has until October to meet the AFL's criteria before it can be granted a license, which also includes other key football-related positions, sponsorship details and a commitment of 20,000 members – Yahoo! Sport

l St Kilda-Thomas battle reaches County Court
Two days before St Kilda was to play the Demons in an elimination final in 2006, Saint's CEO Archie Fraser barged into a coach's meeting waving a piece of paper.

"I was a bit concerned about the timing of it and said 'Can't it wait, Archie'," former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas told a Melbourne court yesterday. "He said he had promised the board he would have it signed today."

The paper, which Thomas signed, essentially waived his rights to any claims for outstanding annual, sick and public holiday leave.

That weekend St Kilda lost. And the following Tuesday, September 12, Thomas was summoned to a meeting at St Kilda president Rod Butterss' home. When he arrived he was informed by Butterss, Fraser and Mark Kellett, then director of football, that his services were no longer needed.

Sarah-jane Collins reports in The Age: Now Thomas is suing the club for $100,000 that he says he is owed in a hush-up severance payment and roughly $90,000, plus interest, in outstanding leave entitlements.

On the morning he was sacked, a hand-written agreement was reached between Thomas and the club. St Kilda paid him $270,000 – six months worth of his salary – in lieu of notice and offered another $100,000 payable on April 1, 2007, if Thomas complied with a deed yet to be drawn up that was basically a gag.

The parties fronted the media that afternoon. Thomas' coaching career with St Kilda was over, but the legal tussle was just beginning – more ... Unsaintly revelations in tussle over $100,000

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Looking ahead to Round 8
l Venue performances for all matches ... more

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Stab Kicks ...
n *Footy Works* – update data for Round 7 was posted yesterday – more ...

n Essendon's four-time premiership coach Kevin Sheedy has been made an honorary member of the club as it passes the 40,000th member milestone. The veteran coach said he has no ill feelings towards the club as he returned to Windy Hill for the first time since his sacking last year after an amazing 27-year career – Footygoss

n Richmond midfielder Mark Coughlan's return to AFL football has again been placed on hold. He experienced renewed hamstring soreness after training yesterday following his comeback in the VFL last weekend. The 26-year-old has not played an AFL game since round 12, 2006, due to consecutive knee reconstructions – The Age

n The traditional Grand Final motorcade will make a comeback in September after being dumped for a new-age celebration last year. The AFL has admitted parts of last year's pre-match did not work, including the tribute to the star cast of retiring players. The pre-match celebration was roundly savaged after a major revamp that saw the traditional motorcade cast aside. Previous retirees had been lauded as they circled the MCG in open-topped cars, but last year they were relegated to a bit-part role on stage – Jon Ralph, Herald Sun

n Sydney's Adam Goodes has been branded a racist by AFL historian Gillian Hibbins, for claiming indigenous players are "born to play". She recently labelled the connection between the national game and Marn Grook a "seductive myth". Hibbins, a major contributor to the AFL's new book The Australian Game of Football, said of Goodes' assertion: "I'm sorry to say that I think it's a racist comment." In a debate on the origins of Australian Football on last Thursday's Marngrook Footy Show, on Foxtel's NITV Channel 180, she added: "If you define racism as believing a race is superior in something, this is what he was doing – Tim Morrissey, Herald Sun

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l Footy Works updates – available
Round 7 updates are the most recent to be posted on May 14th
Please direct software questions to Sorensen Technologies

The ultimate fan site
where passionate supporters gather!

Worth noting ...
n Martin Windsor-Black's *Full Picture* – more
n Tribunal 2008 – more
n NAB Cup 2008 Match Review and details – more
n Traded, Retired, Delisted, Acquired – more
n 2007 financial forecasts and results – more
n Footystats Classifieds – more

Wednesday, May 14

Interchange rules overhaul
New changes apply from this weekend

Matches could be won and lost on the ability of clubs to follow new interchange regulations after the AFL introduced penalties for infringements yesterday.

Stephen Rielly details in The Australian that from round nine, a free-kick and 50m penalty will be paid against a team that does not interchange players according to a new procedure outlined to the league's 16 clubs yesterday afternoon.

The penalties will, according to a number of club officials, lead directly to goals, thus potentially affecting the results of matches, a consequence too severe, many said.

As part of an overhaul of an interchange system that was exposed as inadequate when Sydney briefly fielded 19 players in the confused last minutes of its drawn match with North Melbourne in round six, the league announced a series of changes it hopes can cope with the now hyperactive use of the bench.

From this Friday night, when St Kilda opens round eight against Collingwood at Docklands, players will have to stand in a designated holding area set 1.5m back from the boundary line before they can replace a team-mate taken from the field.

The player to come on will not be able to leave the area until his team-mate has crossed through the interchange gate and left the field. Each club will have its own holding bay that will be monitored by a designated AFL steward.

Further, a player waiting to come on will not be allowed to do so if notification from his club has not been received by the AFL steward or if the notification is incorrect.

If a player leaves the holding box prematurely or illegally, the steward will be empowered from round nine to approach the emergency umpire and inform him of an infringement.

The league has given the clubs the upcoming round to adjust to the changes. The following week, the field umpires will be notified and a free-kick and 50m penalty paid from the position on the field where the play is stopped.

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Looking ahead to Round 8
l Venue performances for all matches ... more

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l Hawks re-sign Clarkson until end of 2011
Hawthorn has confirmed Alastair Clarkson as the man to guide the Hawks to their next premiership by offering him a new three-year contract that will keep him at the helm of the club until at least the end of 2011.

Clarkson, whose contract was due to expire at the end of this year, has been given a three-year extension just as the Hawks are entering their long-awaited move into premiership contention.

The new deal was finalised over the weekend after discussions "stepped up" between the club and Clarkson's manager, Liam Pickering, last week, and was revealed yesterday in a low-key announcement, in which the club merely issued a press release – The Age

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l Repeat foot surgery for Matthew Egan
The season is over for Geelong's All-Australian defender Matthew Egan. Scans on his right foot this week have shown the stress fracture in the navicular bone that caused him to miss last year's finals and all matches this season has flared again.

Michael Horan noted in the Herald Sun: Cats coach Mark Thompson said Egan would require surgery for an injury similar to the one that kept Essendon champion James Hird sidelined for 18 months.

"He's had bad luck, there's no doubt," Thompson said yesterday. "What do you say to a guy? You say you're not the only bloke in the world who has played football. It's a challenge, sure, but if anyone's going to do it ... Matthew is made of the right stuff, he's pretty strong-willed and dedicated.

"Hird had probably 18 months out of the game and then came back and played some fantastic footy."

Egan, 25, resumed light running about a month ago. After initial soreness began to improve, the pain flared again, with this week's scans revealing the fracture is not healing.

l League expecting small turn-out at Carrara
The AFL are bracing themselves for one of their smallest crowds on Saturday night at Carrara since the competition went national in 1987.

Stephen Rielly reports in The Australian that fewer than 1500 tickets have been sold. When the Brisbane Bears and Sydney last met on the Gold Coast in Round 23 of 1992 the crowd was a bare 4,349.

Since 1993 the Brisbane club have played their matches at the Gabba. A revival in 2006-07 has seen five AFL matches played at Carrara –

Stab Kicks ...
n Adrian Anderson is painted with a brush that makes him act like an interfering school master ... step back behind that line, hands behind the back, where is your note giving you permission to play? ... if you haven't got it you can't play ... I'll take the ball away from you all and lock it up in my office until you learn to do the right thing ... I told you not to do that ... you are very naughty boys ...

n more to come ...

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Tuesday, May 13

Rapid return from knee surgery
Sydney's Malceski set to return in reserves
While a bout of gastro laid him low yesterday, Sydney defender Nick Malceski is set to make a remarkable return for the Sydney's reserves side on Sunday, 86 days after having reconstructive knee surgery.

Fox Sports reports French surgeon JP Laboureau and Australian doctor Danny Biggs re-built Malceski's knee in a Sydney operation 12 weeks ago using an industrial-strength synthetic fibre instead of traditional methods.

Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos says it's exciting to see the club's 2007 best-and-fairest runner-up, who broke down with an anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) injury to his right knee in February, making a rapid return.

“He has been training now for a week and a bit so we expect him to train this afternoon (Monday), train Wednesday and train Friday,” Roos said.

“Providing he gets through all that, he'll play (reserves against Tuggeranong) on the weekend.”

The reserves game is a curtain-raiser to Sydney's round-eight AFL clash with Essendon at Stadium Australia at Homebush.

l Football Park upgrade gets AFL backing
The AFL has backed the redevelopment of Football Park at West Lakes in Adelaide and not the construction of a new venue.

Yahoo! Sport reports AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said a new stadium, which could cost about $1 billion, could not survive without AFL football and the AFL would not play there.

"We're certainly not supportive of a brand new stadium," he told ABC Radio.

"You certainly can't justify spending $1 billion of taxpayers' money on a new stadium.

"We'd rather have a refurb at AAMI Stadium."

Mr Demetriou's comments are a blow for the South Australian Liberal opposition which has proposed the construction of a new, inner-city, stadium to be used by the various football codes.

The state government has opposed the concept, with Premier Mike Rann suggesting the next state election would give voters the opportunity to choose between the new sports venue or a new central hospital, as planned by Labor.

Mr Demetriou said that while the current stadium was in urgent need of a major upgrade, he did not think the idea of a new stadium was financially viable.

Stab Kicks ...
n Fremantle's Des Headland will have surgery later this week to repair an injury to his left knee – he will miss up to eight weeks of football – Yahoo! Sport

n AFL Tasmania has settled on a 10-team competition model of five teams from the north of the state and five from the south in a return to statewide football next year – ABC Sport Online

n Caroline Wilson predicts in The Age that Cameron Schwab may not be out of a job for long after he completes his tenure in October as Fremantle's chief executive. Schwab, a veteran of three AFL clubs, spoke to league boss Andrew Demetriou several days ago and later held talks with Demetriou's No. 2 Gillon McLaughlan. His experience could prove crucial in the establishment of new clubs in Queensland and NSW over the next three years.

n Mike Sheahan noted during Monday's On the Couch program that Network Ten recorded 1.7 million viewers nationally for Saturday night's Hall of Fame match at the MCG.

n Mark Robinson reports in the Herald Sun that the time has come for Essendon's Jason Johnson and Damian Peverill. Coach Matthew Knights last said he had told the two players they faced "limited opportunities", but had not ruled a line through their names.

n more to come ...

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Monday, May 12

Normal programs have resumed
Josh Fraser receives hopeful news

Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser has been comforted by news about the knee injury he sustained in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute game at the MCG on Saturday night.

Fox News reports the Victorian suffered damage to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee at a centre bounce during the final term of the victory against he Dream Team, and initially he feared that he would miss two months of the premiership season.

But the Magpies are confident the injury is much less severe than was first thought. "It's certainly not a bad one," Magpies football manager Geoff Walsh said of the injury.

"It's a grade one or two - at the most. It's a strain and we'll see how Josh is feeling in the next 24-48 hours. He'll have scans (Monday), but it's certainly not a tear."

Collingwood doctor Andrew Jowett was part of the Victoria team's support staff, and he was able to look immediately at Fraser's knee.

Walsh said that Fraser had told the club that he wanted to play against St Kilda in round eight but the Magpies would be cautious.

Stab Kicks ...
n What a dumb group we have on hand of those who found it *disagreeable* that the EJ Whitten Medal was not presented on Saturday night. The Whitten Medal is designed to be awarded to the best player when a Victorian team plays in a State of Origin encounter.

It doesn't take a memory much longer than six weeks to remember that the AFL on April 2nd announced the Allen Aylett Medal would be presented to the best player in the Victoria versus Dream Team match on May 10th – the report noted that Dr Aylett, said he was “absolutely thrilled” by the honour, and would be on hand to present the medal ...

Get used to it – for now and at least the foreseeable future, State of Origin is dead!

n Added – in the daily listing on the right-hand side of this page, Hall of Fame, has been included, under the heading *Memory Lane* – names of Legends, players, umpires. administrators and media are listed, including those inducted last Thursday night.

n Col Hutchinson notes that if the Cats are winners against Richmond on Saturday, Joel Selwood will move to his 25th consecutive win for Geelong – for Cameron Ling it will be his 27th in the sequence, and Jimmy Bartel his 26th.

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Sunday, May 11

AFL Tribute Match
Vics kick away in the last quarter

Victoria beat the Dream Team by 17 points last night at the MCG, finding the will and energy to muster a seven-goal final quarter after the visitors had snatched the lead in the third term. The one-off concept was played to a crowd of 69,294.

Len Johnson reported in The Age: Much had been written about the Dream Team's four big power forwards in the lead-up, but in the end it was Victoria's key forwards who made the difference. Two final quarter goals to Brendan Fevola gave him six for the night and two to skipper Jonathan Brown gave him three.

Fevola, with six goals from eight shots, won the Allen Aylett Medal for best afield.

Conversion was obviously the key, because at the other end of the ground, Lance Franklin had one more scoring shot but his tally was 4.5. Had he kicked with Fevola's precision, the Dream Team may well have prevailed.

In truth, there were several other Victorian players – and a couple of Dream Teamers – who could equally have won. Brent Harvey provided much-needed spark for Victoria early and late in the game, Adam Goodes was all silky power after a slow start and Jimmy Bartel used the ball beautifully.

Dream Team skipper Andrew McLeod gave his side great drive from the half-back line, Kane Cornes got plenty of football and also shut down Chris Judd in the second half, and Peter Burgoyne was prolific as the preferred option out of defence.
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The public responded to a return of the State of Origin match concept after a break of nine years but the AFL is adamant the fixture will not become a permanent item on the football calendar.

The presentation of the night was suitably topped by a fireworks display and the national anthem led by the Choir of Hard Knocks after teams were presented by the AFL Master of Ceremonies Craig Willis.

Network Ten, telecaster of the event, trialled several innovative features, including bulky experimental cameras (some 4.5kgs) worn on rotation by one of the central umpires and one of the goal umpires, as well as cameras on behind posts to capture close decisions on goals and at the interchange areas to monitor player movements.

Both coaches, Mark Thompson and Mark Williams, were regularly questioned during the match by commentators of Network Ten.

l New SCG stand will lift capacity to 47,000
The new grandstand at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the site of the old Hill will be named after a Test cricketer.

"It is the Sydney Cricket Ground and the new stand was always going to be named after a cricketer," said SCG Trust chairman Rodney Cavalier.

"We have been naming other parts of the ground after AFL players or supporters of the Swans.

"There will also be internal fittings in the new grandstand which we'll be naming after people and you'll find that AFL will certainly get a guernsey there."

The Age reports the stand is expected to be opened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in early December and Cavalier said the cricketer whose name it would bear would be decided by SCG members, with consideration to public sentiment.

While Cricket NSW chief executive David Gilbert's personal choice would be The Waugh Stand, he noted, "Steve and Mark Waugh played nearly 300 Test matches between them, they are born and bred New South Welshmen, performed great deeds on and off the ground and played for NSW over many years. That would be my selection," Gilbert said.

"With Steve and Mark you've got a great story. They are working-class boys who made it. South Australia has honoured the Chappells at the Adelaide Oval and I think the feats of the Waughs live up to that."

The stand will be named after a cricketer but the $63 million renovations at the ground will benefit AFL.

The field has been lengthened slightly to 152 metres, meaning the centre-square line will no longer intersect with the edge of the 50-metre arc. The new stand will increase the ground's capacity to 47,000. It will house 12,395 seats, of which 8700 will be under cover.

l Long time between ...
A break in the premiership match program provided the ideal opportunity for long-time statophile Bruce Kennedy and myself to get-together for a couple of days to talk – and could it be anything other than – football?

Of the many items that were exchanged was one that had intrigued BK for quite some time.

When Collingwood and Port Adelaide next meet on Friday, August 15 at Football Park, 38 rounds will have elapsed since their previous meeting on Saturday, April 21st last year in round 4.

Because of the changes to the way the draw is now constructed there are several other lengthy spells between club-to-club meetings –

35 – Adelaide-Sydney, 2007-R4 to 2008-R17
35 – Geelong-Hawthorn, 2007-R4 to 2008-R17
34 – Melbourne-West Coast, 2007-R8 to 2008-R20
32 – Carlton-Hawthorn, 2007-R12 to 2008-R22

l Subi thought up the State of Origin concept
So it will not be lost ... comment is a quote from Footystats Diary, Friday-Saturday, July 10-11, 1998 – yep, 10 years ago ...

The pursuit of further State of Origin contests which cost some $800,000 to stage will be examined closely by the AFL. It is however expected that South Australia will play Victoria at the MCG in the middle of next season while The Allies and Western Australia will meet in either Brisbane or Sydney. Beyond 1999 it becomes a very doubtful commodity. In the year 2000 to meet requirements for the staging of the Sydney Olympic Games, the League season will have an earlier start and be finished before the middle of September, leaving little space for State games.

The concept inspired by the Subiaco club and their marketing manager Leon Larkin, first staged in WA in 1977 may have outlived its usefulness. State of Origin football was taken by the rival Rugby League code to an "art-form" with classic confrontations being staged each year between NSW and Queensland. For Australian Football, the State of Origin now appears to be on its last legs.

Note: The reference to the concept of State of Origin – The Footballers, by Geoff Christian, St George Books, 1985.

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Saturday, May 10

AFL Hall of Fame tribute game
Jonathan Brown cleared to lead Victoria

Victorian captain Jonathan Brown says he is a certain starter for tonight's AFL Hall Of Fame tribute match at the MCG.

Brown had been under a cloud with quadricep soreness but said he had proved his fitness to himself at training.

"I'm playing, I'm right to go, I did my fitness test (Thursday) and pulled up well," Brown said. Brown said he had no doubts at all about the quadricep.

"If you can kick goals from 50 metres there's nothing too much wrong with your quad," he said. "I'm 100 per cent confident, I feel a lot better for doing that (Thursday) and I'm ready to go."

"If I was playing for Brisbane I'd be playing so I'm very keen to go."

Brown said it was a huge honour to be leading Victoria against the Dream Team and he said the feeling in the build-up to the game was similar to that in grand final week.

While Brown will play, Brad Johnson and Nick Dal Santo have been forced out through injuries, after Gary Ablett was ruled out earlier in the week.

The other two players cut from the Victorian squad when the 25-man teams were Jarryd Roughead and Brad Sewell.

For the Dream Team, Luke McPharlin and Tadhg Kennelly were forced out through injury, while Nathan Bassett, Daniel Cross and Corey Enright were omitted from the squad – Yahoo! Sport

Martin Flanagan, The Age
Official historian clouds contribution of Wills
The respected Martin Flanagan in The Age applies a greater clarity to the contribution of Thomas Wentworth Wills in the formation of our game than the appointed historian Gillian Hibbins concludes in The Australian Game of Football, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the national code.

Rather than submit her viewpoint for discussion, Hibbins concludes, and diminishes the importance of T.W. Wills and the inspiration drawn from indigenous culture. Her conclusion may well have resulted from directions given when appointed to the task.

Flanagan's viewpoint is compulsory reading – more ... A battle of Wills

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Friday, May 9

AFL Hall of Fame
Kevin Sheedy leads eight new inductees
Alex Jesaulenko elevated to Legend status

Coaching great Kevin Sheedy has led eight inductees for the AFL Hall of Fame at a dinner in Melbourne on Thursday night and Alex Jesaulenko was elevated from Hall of Fame member to official legend status.

Roger Vaughan reported for Fox Sports: Sheedy joined the other seven inductees – Collingwood's much-loved player Gavin Brown, hard-nosed Geelong midfielder Garry Hocking, West Coast's two-time premiership half-back Glen Jakovich, North Melbourne's 1965 Brownlow Medallist Noel Teasdale, former Collingwood captain Des Tuddenham, Port Adelaide champion Geof Motley and long-time Queensland umpire Tom McArthur.

Motley played in an incredible nine premiership sides for the SANFL Magpies.

Jesaulenko was among the original inductees in 1996 and he became the 22nd man to receive legend status.

The four-time Carlton premiership player was playing for the Blues in the 1970 grand final against arch-rivals Collingwood when he produced one of the most famous moments in VFL-AFL history.

The brilliant utility took a towering mark over Magpies ruckman Graeme "Jerker" Jenkin, prompting television commentator Mike Williamson to yell the immortal line: "Jesaulenko, you beauty!".

Jesaulenko played in four Carlton premiership sides, including 1970, and was playing coach in the '79 flag win, again over Collingwood.

He played 279 games for the Blues and St Kilda between 1967-81 and kicked 444 goals.

Jesaulenko was captain-coach and non-playing coach at the two clubs.

He also made the AFL and Carlton teams of the century.

Essendon controversially decided last year not to extend Sheedy's tenure as coach after an astonishing 27 years in the role during which he coached the Bombers to four premierships. This week he is Victorian assistant coach for Saturday night's Hall Of Fame tribute match against the composite Dream Team at the MCG.

Sheedy is one of the most influential figures in the game's history and has hero status among indigenous Australians.

His strong promotion of indigenous players and his frequent visits to the Top End were pivotal in changing racial attitudes within the game.

Sheedy's quirky personality and his love of left-field ideas have made him a long-time media favourite.

Before Sheedy's coaching established him as one of the game's all-time greats, Sheedy had an outstanding playing career at Richmond.

The self-described "back-pocket plumber" played 251 games for the Tigers between 1967-79, including three premierships, and was named in the club's team of the century.

AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Game
l AFL elite players urge return of State of Origin
A selection of the AFL's elite players are urging the ongoing return of State of Origin football, with Geelong fullback Matthew Scarlett comparing the appeal to a grand final. Yahoo! Sports report Scarlett said the State of Origin concept, last staged in 1999, was sorely missed by modern players,

"I wish there was this every year, I think it's a great concept hopefully they can keep it in and we can play (something) like this," he said.

"It's the one thing that's been missing. I used to go to the old state games and see Garry Ablett Snr, (Jason) Dunstall and Plugger (Tony Lockett) play. It was really sad not getting to play for Victoria over the last couple of years so I can't wait.

"I used to love going to games, it used to be so big, it was the best game of the year to watch, it was better than the grand final for me, I know other guys have said the same thing."

Scarlett said every Victorian player he had talked to wanted to play for the state, despite the concept having been abandoned because of an apparent lack of interest.

The passion of players to be involved in Saturday night's one-off MCG clash between Victoria and the Dream Team is clear in the efforts those under injury clouds are making to be involved.

Victorian captain Jonathan Brown trained strongly on Thursday and looks likely to play, despite the strong misgivings of his Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews over a quadricep concern.

Similarly, Western Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson, who is also under a fitness cloud with a calf complaint, said he was desperate to again pull on the Victorian jumper.

And Geelong and Victorian coach Mark Thompson said gun Cats midfielder Gary Ablett was "shattered" when he was ruled out with a calf strain.

Dream Team coach Mark Williams said he had been expecting some of his players to rule themselves out with injury, but it was not happening.

Ruckman Dean Cox has declared his intent to play despite a foot problem, while teammate Darren Glass, Western Bulldogs midfielder Adam Cooney and Hawthorn star Lance Franklin have also shrugged aside minor injury concerns.

Saturday night's game is a one-off revival to celebrate 150 years of Australian Football.

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Stab Kicks ...
n According to TV listings on the Fox Sports website, no AFL programs are detailed on Fox 1, 2 or 3 for Saturday, when the 7.40pm match will be on Channel 10. The replay of the Tribute game is Sunday at 11am or Monday morning at 1.30am.

n Worth repeating ... Calling all Austins
Austin Wonaeamirri may be the first Wonaeamirri to win a NAB Rising Star nomination, as he did this week, but he's not the first Austin. He is the first for a while though (13 years in fact) since Austinn "Aussie" Jones did so for St Kilda in round nine, 1995. In fact, because it's not such a common first name for a player, our resident stats man Martin Windsor-Black burnt some midnight oil in search of other Austins (with variations of spelling) who have played the game and he found eight of them.

AND in all, four players with the surname Austen and five with the surname Austin have played the game, the most famous of whom was Carlton's Rod "Curly" Austin, a 220-game premiership player for Carlton in the 1970s and 1980s – Geoff McClure, Sporting Life, The Age, May 9 ...

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