Lyon unclear on captaincy
New St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says the club's captaincy issue will not be a focus for him in the short-term, with a decision on the leadership group to be addressed further down the track. St Kilda's captaincy has been a hot topic each year ever since former coach Grant Thomas introduced a rotational policy . . . Lyon, speaking at Moorabbin on Wednesday after the club announced Vodafone as its new joint major sponsor for 2007, said the pre-season program was his number one focus at the moment.
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/15Nov06
New face for Saints website and Moorabbin turf
The Saints launched their 2007 new look Website and uploaded a 'bunch' of new articles. The website banner includes the 'Vodafone' and the 'believe or burn logo'. The Moorabbin playing field has 'Vodafone' banners along the boundary fence and the brand name and a large logo is imprinted in the turf as well. The weather was 'freezing' down at Moorabbin today but there was plenty of activity inside and on the turf with about 20 odd supporters, the press and television crews looking on. The only quiet area seemed to be the Saints shop where much of the merchandise was on special and no customers in site. All of the new coaches were on the turf with the players and 'snoopygirl' from saintsational.com has written a training report. Ed.
Bill EXPRESS strong partner for Saints
St Kilda Football Club are delighted to have a new partner for the 2007 season in Vodafone, who join existing partner Bill EXPRESS as the Club's joint major sponsor. Bill EXPRESS are now in their third year as major sponsor with the Saints and continue to be an outstanding partner and asset to the Club. "We work well and very closely with Bill EXPRESS and have outstanding relationships with CEO Ian Christiansen, Chief Operating Officer Steve Banni and Chief Financial Officer Mark Lichtenstein" said St Kilda Chief Executive, Archie Fraser. The Club believes that by adding Vodafone as the joint major sponsor with Bill EXPRESS, this can only further enhance the three brands' positions in the marketplace.
The Article saints.com.au/16Nov06
Ground security review
The AFL will investigate security and safety procedures at all of its venues throughout Australia. The review team will meet clubs, players, police and emergency services, private security companies, stadium operators, local councils and media to determine if security and safety can be improved. There have been isolated incidents over the years of fans clashing with coaches and players.
The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/18Nov06
Time for hope
AFL players might only now be returning to the training track to start their long and arduous pre-season campaigns, but club membership staffs have been hard at work since even before the Grand Final, working on packages and messages to entice fans to join up again in 2007 . . . In 2006, the 16 clubs combined to record an increase of 2.49 per cent on the previous record tally of 506,509 with nine clubs - Adelaide, Fremantle, Geelong, the Kangaroos, Richmond, St Kilda, Sydney, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs - increasing on their 2005 figures. In total, 519,126 people were AFL club members this year . . . St Kilda has employed a catchy slogan of Believe or Burn for its campaign and are also confident of surpassing numbers from 2006 after launching its drive last week while Geelong is looking to establish a new record for the third consecutive season.
The Article Jennifer Witham/Sportal/afl.com.au/17Nov06
Cometti set for Seven's team
Channel Seven is poised to hire leading AFL commentator Dennis Cometti to join its Friday night line-up next season. After months of speculation about who will call games for Seven, network chief Ian Johnson, confirmed yesterday that Bruce McAvaney would host Friday night games, and strongly hinted that Cometti would be his co-caller. Mr Johnson said he had spoken to Cometti, who crossed from Seven to Nine five years ago, and that the award-winning caller had agreed to wait before reaching a new deal with Nine until Seven had finalised its AFL plans by the end of November. Mr Johnson said the network's sports chiefs would meet tomorrow to debate the remainder of its calling team but added that one Friday night special commentary position had already been unofficially filled by Tim Watson and that former player and physiotherapist Ricky Olarenshaw was likely to become Seven's medical commentator. Channels Seven and Ten are still preparing to televise all eight weekly AFL games next season and have placed an unofficial deadline of December 1 on Foxtel, which has still not increased its offer of an annual $45 million for four AFL games a week.
The Article Caroline Wilson/TheAgeRealFooty/17Nov06
Ross Lyon & major sponsors - Image: saints.com.au
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Vodafone rings up another footy deal
Vodafone has again looked to football to drive its marketing, announcing its second new club major sponsorship deal in the past month. The mobile carrier will be the joint major sponsor of St Kilda - with Bill Express - for the 2007 season, with an option to extend the deal by a year. The financial terms were not revealed . . . Vodafone's general manager for business markets, Edward Goff, said the telco always looked to "leverage the sponsorship opportunities", such as the "Your Team TV" episodes involving St Kilda players. It also enables Vodafone to counter Telstra, which holds exclusive mobile rights for AFL match highlights.
The Article AAP/TheAge/15Nov06
New deal for Saints
St Kilda has signed a new major sponsorship deal with Vodafone, which will include an exclusive reality-based TV show to appear exclusively on mobile phones. The Saints become the first Victorian-based club to sign with Vodafone, which also has major deals with the Brisbane Lions, Port Adelaide and West Coast. In addition to the reality TV series involving the Saints, which will appear monthly and available for free to Vodafone 3G customers, Vodafone will also sponsor St Kilda's business network, while several other initiatives are planned for St Kilda supporters. "We have been working hard to take the St Kilda Football Club to the next level and attracting a high profile partner such as Vodafone gives us great momentum moving forward," said Saints chief executive Archie Fraser.
The Article Sportal/saints.com.au/15Nov06
Vodafone kicks the quick goals
. . . Vodafone said in a statement that its Australian revenues for the six months to September increased 16.1 per cent, although its results only specified a combined revenue figure for Australia and New Zealand. This is on pace with recent results from Hutchison - which trades as 3 - but is almost three times the mobile revenue growth of Telstra and Optus. Vodafone's monthly average revenue per user increased for the third consecutive quarter, up 6 per cent from the June quarter to $52.40. Voice minutes - the combined duration of all phone calls made by Vodafone customers - rose 7 per cent to 2.14 billion during the quarter. Goldman Sachs JBWere telecommunications analyst Christian Guerra said the results showed Vodafone was taking "high-quality share" from its rivals. "This is being driven by its strategy of combining mobile capped plans and free or subsidised handsets," he wrote in a note to clients. "This is more evidence that the outlook for the Australian mobile market remains challenging."
The Article AAP/TheAge/16Nov06
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TheAge - J. Knowler
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TS40 (Wool)
. . . A turning point in Schwarze's career was in Round 6, 2004 against the Brisbane Lions where he kicked the match-winning goal from 55 metres out in the dying moments of the match. Since then Schwarze has been a steady, if unspectacular, contributor to the Saints, playing many utility roles in defence and occasionally in attack. 2006 has seen him used up forward, as was evidenced in the Round 4 game against Port Adelaide where he helped lead a second-half resurgence from the Saints. Schwarze then suffered a hamstring injury in Round 13, and did not return to the side for the remainder of the year.
Wikipedia Profile
From Troy Schwarze Chat Transcript - July 2006
wow: Hi Troy, what do you want to do after footy? . . .
Troy Schwarze: I would probably get away from football, I've been doing work with the Unity Foundation working in schools and I would like to continue with that.
Kimmie: Hey Troy, which team do you like playing against?
Troy Schwarze: I like playing against the Kangas (my brother plays for them) and it's also always good to beat a team like Collingwood.
The Transcript saints.com.au
Schwarze, Ferguson gone: Who will be our new backup?
'mad saint guy': With Schwarze and Ferguson delisted and Maguire out for most of 2007, who will we recruit as support to Kosi/Rix/Gilbert? The obvious options are Andrew Kellaway, Travis Gaspar, Luke Livingston and Jason Cloke. Which of these would be your preferred option?
'2007' B: L. Fisher, M. Hudghton, B. Voss - HB: S. Gilbert, S. Fisher, J. Gram - That's a damn good backline if you ask me . . . Raph to play as the third tall is another option instead of Gilbert. Rix to come in an play on the resting ruckman if required against certain sides. And you can always swing Kosi back to shutdown someone. We have plenty of tall timber. Let's put some faith in our own players for a change.
The Thread saintsational.com
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Seven-Ten look local
Channels 7 and 10 may use community TV stations in Brisbane and Sydney to fulfil their obligations to the AFL in the broadcast rights deal signed this year. Under the agreement, all eight games each week must be broadcast, with as many as four games able to be on-sold to pay TV. While the protracted negotiations with pay-TV provider Foxtel are believed to be continuing, the Seven-Ten consortium has begun pursuing an alternative -- buying air time on Briz 31 and TVS Channel 31 in Sydney in a bid to avoid financial black holes on Friday and Sunday nights in the northern markets, where games not involving local teams would seriously affect advertising revenues.
The Article HeraldSun/16Nov06
Sell-out claim on AFL TV deal
Australian football rights holders Channel 7 and Channel10 are looking to community television stations in Sydney and Brisbane to meet their obligation to broadcast eight live AFL games a week and avoid a financial black hole on Friday and Sunday nights. The surprise move was confirmed yesterday by the acting chief executive of Sydney's TVS Channel 31, Laurie Patton. He told Media: "There have been some discussions and we would be delighted to provide air time for this to occur. We see it as a very strong delivery of our community obligations under our licence conditions." It is understood the AFL consortium of Seven and Ten has drawn up contingency plans to purchase air time on TVS and the Brisbane community station Briz31 if no agreement can be reached with pay-TV provider Foxtel. Negotiations between the groups have been drawn out and acrimonious, with the parties reportedly $15 million apart.
The Article Mark Day/TheAustralian/16Nov06
Ten grabs Rugby World Cup rights Erin McWhirter/TheMercury/16Nov06
ANZ makes a run for the stadium
Sydney's Telstra Stadium may get a new owner after a company owned by ANZ made a $190 million takeover offer for the arena's operator. Stadium Investments Pty Ltd, a company ultimately owned by ANZ, has made an agreed, off-market takeover bid for Stadium Australia Group, the manager of the Telstra Stadium in Sydney . . . The offer of 10c per stapled security, which was immediately endorsed in the absence of a higher offer, values SAG at $9.7 million and equates to an enterprise value of $190 million. The bid is being made by an entity associated with the Diversified Infrastructure Trust, a fund formed by ANZ Infrastructure Services to invest in social infrastructure.
The Article Richard Gluyas/TheAustralian/16Nov06
Judd kicks goal with sponsors Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/16Nov06
AFL: Bump is OK
The bump is safe in football. However how it is executed will be strictly policed to prevent serious injury. Feedback from the clubs has reinforced the AFL's commitment to better control physical aspects of the game rather than ban them. "There's no moves to get rid of the bump. The bump will stay," AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson said last night. "But we're looking at exactly what constitutes a legal bump. The laws committee is specifically examining means to protect a player with his head over the ball from serious spinal injury." A six-man tribunal review committee will formulate safeguards to protect the ball player when it meets soon to examine submissions and ideas from the clubs.
The Article Bruce Matthews/HeraldSun/15Nov06
St Kilda Memberships - Saints are flying'
The new slogan 'Believe or Burn' has also very been well received and has provided the club with a positive 'out there' imprint in the market place . . . we have already hit 11,000 members for the 2007 season, which is up by over 1000 on 2006. Ben Hall and his team have to be congratulated for producing such great results . . . Late next week everyone who has been on the club's data base for the past few years (60,000 names) will get a membership pack in the mail, well it's actually a tin, with all the stickers and goodies etc inside, the club expect that by doing this we will get a record number of members this year . . . (we are the) only club doing this . . . The thinking behind it is that if you were a member over the past few years and we send you all the stuff before you pay you will either join again, or worst case scenario you will promote the club by displaying our stickers on your car, which in turn helps promote membership. Also everyone should have their packs before the end of November, so none of that drip feed fulfilment and all the stuff about 'where are my stickers' etc. There will be a one-drop, one mail out to everyone before Christmas . . . Obviously you don't get your membership card until you pay and you will receive a special 'subtle' membership sticker for your car as well, which will come after payment. The club is going all-out to get close to 40,000 members this year.
The Post and Thread 'The Peanut' saintsational.com
New faces at Moorabbin
Image: Sky News
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Elshaug talks up Saints
St Kilda's football department has virtually been rebuilt from the ground up since the end of last season with one of the key moves being the installation of Tony Elshaug as general manager of football development. The former Kangaroos and Carlton assistant coach's brief takes in a wide range of areas, but his main focus will be ensuring that the younger players at Moorabbin are given every opportunity to put their best foot forward. "It's mainly about designing and implementing development and welfare programs for the younger players in particular, but it also needs to be tailored to the older players as well," Elshaug explains. "There's obviously a lot of top-end talent at St Kilda and there's obviously some really talented younger players as well and if there's an area that we'd like to put some more time and effort into it's the younger players which also gives the more experienced players a good opportunity to have some success in the latter parts of there careers."
The Article Jason Phelan/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Nov06
Training - Monday Nov 13th. 'yipper' saintsational.com
Vodafone to sponsor the Saints 'On the Ball' et al saintsational.com
jumper allocations 'st_Trav_ofWA' et al saintsational.com
AFL schedules a ratings headache for Seven, Ten
Draft schedules for next year's AFL coverage are circulating in the market amid reports of rising tension between broadcast partners Seven and Ten over sharing the pain of a ratings black hole in two of the nation's three largest markets . . . Unless there is a last-minute breakthrough in the talks which brings Foxtel into the equation, Seven and Ten are legally bound to carry all games live each week. Because of the AFL-Rugby league divide between the southern and northern states, this produces scheduling nightmares . . . On Saturdays, Seven and Ten will be forced to go head-to-head with live football in the afternoons and nights. This will split the audience, and is causing scheduling tensions between the partners over who should carry games which will be ratings losers in some markets. A game between, say, the Fremantle Dockers and the Western Bulldogs may do well in the Perth and Melbourne markets, but it would be a ratings disaster in Sydney or Brisbane. Last year, the Iron Chef on SBS outrated a Sydney Swans game on a Saturday night in Sydney. As one market source put it: "The big question is - who's going to have to eat the biggest s... sandwich?"
The Article Mark Day/TheAustralian/13Nov06
Growing the game means AFL must work to retain its high flyers
Having weathered the diplomatically disastrous tour of Ireland, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou remains overseas where he must now turn his mind to crucial domestic issues, namely, how to replace his close friend and deputy Ben Buckley . . . Buckley was clearly highly regarded by the commission, some of whom saw him as a potential successor to Demetriou. With the various bonuses he received as a result of the competition's performance in 2006 and his role in the new $700 million broadcast rights agreement, Buckley was paid close to $700,000 in his final year. Clubs would faint at that figure and yet he has moved to the helm of soccer to earn almost twice that amount . . . Despite the AFL's insistence it has improved its relationships with its key stakeholders, it still boasts no key executive staffer with any first-hand knowledge of the demands at a club. Addressing that should be a priority.
The Article Caroline Wilson/TheAge RealFooty/14Nov06
O'Loughlin appointed Indigenous ambassador
An AFL player has been appointed as the newest Indigenous ambassador for the Commonwealth Department of Human Services. Sydney Swans footballer Michael O'Loughlin joins three other ambassadors, including former rugby league player Arthur Beetson and women's touch footballer Bo de la Cruz. Minister for Human Services Joe Hockey says the ambassadors will visit regional and remote Indigenous communities to promote awareness of government services, including Centrelink and Medicare. Mr O'Loughlin says he is looking forward to his new role and will make his first visit tomorrow to Albany in southern Western Australian.
The Article ABCNewsOnline/14Nov06
Allegation cost me Saints coaching job: Cresswell
. . . In September police launched an investigation after a woman alleged Cresswell sexually assaulted her during a night out in Brisbane. The complaint was later withdrawn but the former Geelong and Brisbane assistant said the Saints ruled him out because of the allegation. "Plain and simply an allegation bumped me off straight away," he said. "I thought I was in a pretty good position to vie for that job but unfortunately it didn't come about. So then I thought it's time to go out and prove myself and just show how good I am."
The Article ABCSport/14Nov06
Creswell on the job in Tas David Stockdale/HobartMercury/13Nov06
Image: Herald Sun
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Hayes wants to oust Demons soon
St Kilda onballer Lenny Hayes is still aiming for the Saints' Round 1 clash - against Melbourne on Friday, March 30 - to launch his comeback. He expects to get the all-clear from his surgeon at his next check-up during the middle of next month. The Saints resume training on Wednesday, but all players will officially return to the club today for a meeting with the coaching panel, headed by Ross Lyon. Completely pain free and without any complications, Hayes has been happy with his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury that ended his season after Round 9. "I will probably get a clearer indication when I see the surgeon mid-December, but I'm hopeful of playing in the opening round," Hayes said.
The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/13Nov06
Fresh coaching blood at Port
. . . Former St Kilda defender Cripps, who as an assistant coach with the Saints for the past three years looked after the defence, is Port's new forward line coach as a direct replacement for the departed Tony McGuinness. Recently-retired Adam Kingsley takes over the defence with former defensive coach Dean Bailey moving to the midfield. He replaces coach Mark Williams' former right-hand man Phil Walsh, who takes on the newly-created position of football strategy and innovations manager . . . Cripps, who had his playing career ruined by injury, is renowned for his strong work ethic. He said experiencing so many good and bad times at St Kilda would stand him in good stead. "I was there for 12 years as a player and coach and I think I've got a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't work," he said.
The Article Andrew Capel/AdelaideAdvertiser/14Nov06
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