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2007 Pre Season Articles - Page 7
Koschitzke finds himself back in familiar territory With the pre-season competition just a week away, Justin Koschitzke is back in the place he wanted to avoid this summer: the Moorabbin medical rooms. The AFL's most injury-prone player has missed two weeks of training with a torn abductor muscle and has moved to top billing in the cast of Saints expected to take little to no part in the NAB Cup. St Kilda football manager Ken Sheldon confirmed that full-back Max Hudghton (back spasms) is also on the injury list. "Hudghton has had a spasm and a precautionary scan," Sheldon said. "Koschitzke has missed two weeks with a slight abductor he aggravated at training" . . . Sheldon said neither player's injury was of great significance and that the off-season remained relatively free of injury, with only Hudghton, Koschitzke and Nick Riewoldt tearing muscles . . . According to Sheldon, St Kilda will contest the knock-out competition without Koschitzke, Hudghton, Riewoldt, Aaron Hamill, Michael Gardiner, Lenny Hayes, Raphael Clarke, Matt Maguire and Fergus Watts. The Article Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/17Feb07 Justin Koschitzke injury hiccup Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/17Feb07 Kosi injured, Xavier shines Sportal/17Feb07 Squads Report for NAB openers . . . The Saints have five players yet to see any AFL action in their 28-man squad, along with four rookies. Aaron Hamill, Max Hudghton, Matt Maguire, Raphael Clarke, Michael Gardiner, Justin Koschitzke, Lenny Hayes and Nick Riewoldt are among those in the casualty ward. "We've certainly taken a cautious approach . . . with a number of players, like Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo, Nick Riewoldt, those types of players," said Saints football manager Ken Sheldon. While fit, Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo, Fraser Gehrig and Robert Harvey will miss the trip to Cairns, while Brett Voss was restricted to light duties on Thursday and will not play. The Article AAP/news.ninemsn.com.au/22Feb07 Hamill's career on hold Aaron Hamill's career is on indefinite hold after arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday revealed further damage to the St Kilda forward's troublesome right knee. A chronic condition related to the posterior cruciate ligament has limited Hamill to just 21 senior appearances over the past two seasons with recent soreness forcing him back under the surgeon's knife. Hamill had been due to front the media at Moorabbin on Thursday afternoon, but was forced to pull out after succumbing to nausea brought on by the surgery, leaving football manager Ken Sheldon to speak in his place. "Basically it's an inflated knee with swelling (and) a bit of loose (cartilage) fragment which is causing irritation and that's causing Aaron some concerns" Sheldon explained. The Article Jason Phelan/Sportal/saints.com.au/22Feb07 Aaron Hamill Setback 'Sainterman' saintsational.com St Kilda's Hamill under the knife again AAP/WestAustralian/22Feb07 Hamill's career in jeopardy The AFL career of St Kilda key forward Aaron Hamill is in jeopardy after his latest injury setback. The 29-year-old needed surgery yesterday on his troublesome right knee, sidelining him until at least the middle of the regular season. Given his wretched luck with injuries over the last few seasons and the fact no specific incident caused this complication, Hamill's playing future is increasingly uncertain. It also continues the Saints' run of poor luck with injuries, particularly to key players. "That's the surprising thing, there was no particular incident, and that's what has surprised the surgeon and indeed Aaron himself," said Saints football manager Ken Sheldon. "There's where the concern is." Sheldon admitted Hamill would be out for "a number of weeks, maybe months". "We're really in the dark at the moment and it will just take its time." Hamill was due to front the media this afternoon, but Sheldon said he was ill after yesterday's operation. The Article AAP/TheAgeRealFooty/22Feb07 Club Doctor Ian Stone statement St KildaFC/saints.com.au/22Feb07 Knee setback for Hamill Sportal/AFL/saints.com.au/22Feb07 The 'Five' Year Contract 'rodgerfox' saintsational.com Aaron Hamill contract 2004 Archives - this site Saints Intra Club Wrap Up Due to a quad injury that is expected to sideline him for two to three weeks, Saints star Justin Koschitzke was unavailable to participate in the Club's intra-club match on Friday night. Yet there was better news for the Saints during their 45 minute match on Friday night with the classy Xavier Clarke showing he is on track for a better season, with a polished display. Clarke impressed new Saints coach Ross Lyon on Friday night."All clubs want their talented young players up and running and he played in the (Aboriginal) All-Star game last week and he had a half today and he looked lively up forward," Lyon said of Clarke. The Article St Kilda Football Club/saints.com.au/21Feb07
The pay-TV industry's new AFL broadcast deal has triggered a 40 per cent increase in subscriptions at regional pay-TV group Austar, which yesterday reported a 43 per cent jump in annual net profit to $51.3 million. Those numbers, combined with strong outlook comments from Austar chief executive John Porter, pushed Austar's shares 9.02 per cent higher yesterday to $1.33. Mr Porter said the group has recorded record sales days and weeks since the AFL pay-TV deal was announced, having added between 3500 and 3800 sales per day compared to between 2500 and 2800 sales at the same time last year. The Article Jane Schulze/TheAustralian/22Feb07 Brown, Riewoldt poised for club honours Lance Whitnall's elevation to Carlton captain might also suggest good news in the coming days for Brisbane's Jonathan Brown and St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt. The AFL's official invitation to its season launch on March 22 was released this week, featuring the club captains. But when the invitation was printed, the Blues, Lions and Saints were the three clubs yet to announce their skippers. The invitation, titled "Mission 07", lists Whitnall, Riewoldt and Brown as their team's "field agents" alongside the other 13 captains. The Article AAP/Nat9News/21Feb07 Black, Johnson, Power to captain Lions AAP/TheAge/20Feb07 Simple yes or NO!! Reiwoldt 'RooandKosi' saintsational.com Charman on move Brisbane is considering taking all its available tall timber to Cairns for the NAB Cup opener against St Kilda on Saturday night. Top ruckman Jamie Charman is primed to spend periods deep in attack, leaving third-year player Cameron Wood and draftee Matthew Leuenberger to carry the ruck load against Saints pair Matthew Clarke and Michael Rix . . . The Saints are also tipped to take three ruckmen to Cairns, with Matthew Clarke and Michael Rix set to be joined by Barry Brooks, who spent time on the ball in the Saints' intraclub scratch match last week. The Article Andrew Hamilton/CourierMail/19Feb07 Adcock up in air for opener Andrew Hamilton/CourierMail/20Feb07 Lions name trio of captains to get pride back Laine Clark & Jordan Chong, Brisbane/TheAgeRealFooty/21Feb07 Lions chief fuming over TV black spots Mike Sheahan/HeraldSun/21Feb07 Senior AFL role for Watts Former St Kilda CEO and Director Jim Watts had been appointed to the new role of AFL General Manager - Corporate Development and Industry Relations. AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou said Watts' club experience would be of great value to the AFL and would be valuable in building greater collaboration between the league and the 16 clubs, state bodies and governments in the future . . . Demetriou said as well as strategic development, Watts would drive the AFL's corporate social responsibility program to ensure the AFL and the clubs remain leaders in the field of CSR. Last year Watts worked briefly with the AFL in a consultancy role preparing a report on the Carlton Football Club ahead of the AFL's assistance package. From October 2000 to July last year he held the roles of Director, Vice President or CEO of the St Kilda Football Club. Before being appointed by St Kilda, Watts, who has an Honours Degree in Economics and post-graduate degrees in Mathematics and Physical Education, founded a human resource consulting firm, Hamilton Watts International in London in 1984. The Article Sportal/AFL/saints.com.au/20Feb07 2007 preview: Adelaide Matt Burgan/afl.com.au/22Feb07 Lyon says Kosi fit for round one . . . Koschitzke missed tonight's intra-club match at Moorabbin because of what Lyon called a tweak to a leg injury he had suffer earlier in the pre-season. While Koschitzke was among several key Saints who sat out the game as they recover from injury, Xavier Clarke delighted the crowd of about 3000 with his form. Like Koschitzke, Clarke suffered injury problems last year on the way to the Saints dropping out in the first week of the finals. But Clarke moved freely in attack after playing for the Indigenous All-Stars a week ago in Darwin . . . Lyon denied speculation Hudghton had a newly-torn hamstring, but admitted the muscle was "tight". St Kilda played three 15-minutes quarters with extended breaks to allow for the hot conditions. While it was a scrappy game, Lyon saw good signs. Western Bulldogs recruit Shane Birss and rookie ruckman Luke Van Rheenen had good hitouts . . . He added the players were about a week away from voting on their leadership group. The Article AAP/TheAgeRealFooty/17Feb07 Kosi Quad, Max Hammy soreness St Kilda star Justin Koschitzke is back on the injured list after he failed to turn out for the Saints in their opening intra-club game of the 2007 season at Moorabbin on Friday night. The injury-prone big man, who has played just 58 games in the past five years since winning the 2001 NAB AFL Rising Star award, had been enjoying an injury-free pre-season until he strained a quad at training this week. The injury is expected to sideline him for two to three weeks meaning he may get just one senior hit-out under his belt before the start of the home and away season at the end of March. But there was better news for the Saints during their 45 minute match on Friday night with the classy Xavier Clarke showing he is on track for a better season after his own injury problems, with a polished display. Clarke has played just 22 games in the past two seasons but impressed new Saints coach Ross Lyon on Friday night . . . The Saints were without several of their other stars on Friday night including full-back Max Hudghton, who is suffering from hamstring soreness, as well as Leigh Fisher, Aaron Hamill, Matt Maguire, Nick Riewoldt, Michael Gardiner, Lenny Hayes and Raphael Clarke. Quad sidelines Kosi Paul Gough/Sportal/AFL/saints.com.au
Yesterday's article by Caroline Wilson about Kangaroos ruckman David Hale, in which his mother questioned the effectiveness of the AFL "industry" commitment to player personal development and welfare, is worthy of a response. AFL players receive unprecedented levels of public support and they acknowledge that with public support, higher standards of behaviour are expected and a responsibility to act professionally. Clearly, AFL players have taken a few hits in recent weeks and that's OK. There are few more accountable positions in Australia than that of AFL footballer. Pick up a newspaper and you're likely to read a story placing a footballer under intense scrutiny. Put in a bad game, whack. Make a minor error of judgement, whack. Nothing is off limits or deemed as too minor to not be worthy of comment and analysis. AFL football is a demanding, full-time, professional sport. Down time between training AND playing is limited and spent recovering from the physical exertion required to excel. That said, the AFLPA and AFL "industry" work tirelessly to provide players with the tools to succeed during and after football. In fact, the commitment to development and welfare, I believe, is without peer in this nation, perhaps the world. The Article Brendon Gale/TheAgeRealFooty/22Feb07 AFL hamstrung by legislation The AFL has all but admitted it is powerless to widen the net of its investigation into players and officials who gamble on games. And the league has hit a massive hurdle in its efforts to secure betting transaction information from Victorian sports bookmakers after Racing Victoria this week refused a request to supply details. AFL general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said yesterday that the league would continue to push for state governments to change legislation to allow for access of information. The Article Greg Denham/TheAustralian/22Feb07
by 'saint66au' Considerably smaller crowd than previous years but they still ran out of heavy beer, hehe. Ground announcer was Fly. Game didnt start til 5.30 to allow weather to cool a little. 3 x 15 mins "thirds" with long breaks between. Gehrig towelled up Gwilt bigtime. Mini tagged Banger but got plenty of the ball himself. Clinton Jones is very flashy, one great run down the wing with Banger in pursuit. Armitage . . . look out. Knows how to find it and his kicking is very penetrating. Grammy and Chipper backed themselves numerous times. Both sides seem to have been encouraged to run with the footy. Agree field kicking wasn't precise at times but its the 2nd week of February. Brooks was dissapointing I thought, played forward but struggled to make an impact, the positive of course is that Ferg played well on him. Have to admit Rix was by far the better player than him today. Beat Clarke at most tapouts but Clarke did some nice things round the ground. Milney, BJ, Fizz all were good too I thought. Van Rheenan played a good last "third" but needs to grow into his body still. Phil Raymond still looks very skinny. Cant tell you the final score as the scoreboard was broken . . . The Post & Lots of other Reports saintsational.com LIST OF INTRACLUB PLAYERS This site St Kilda still upbeat over Riewoldt St Kilda remains confident Nick Riewoldt will only miss round one of the AFL's NAB Cup. Riewoldt hurt his hamstring late last month, but it was only rated a minor injury. New Saints assistant coach John Barker said the club would take no risks with Riewoldt. "We're taking it week by week and if his rehab allows he will (play in the pre-season cup), and if it doesn't he doesn't," Barker told Channel Seven. The Article AAP/WestAustralian/14Feb07 The Article AAP/TheAge/15Feb07 Saints on the Ball? St Kilda is set to decide on its captain for 2007 this week with Luke Ball strongly favoured to retain the role. Ball was the fourth and last of previous coach Grant Thomas' rotating captains after Aaron Hamill, Lenny Hayes and Nick Riewoldt led the Saints in Thomas' three other full years in charge. But new coach Ross Lyon favours a captaincy appointment in the traditional model meaning Ball, who turns 23 this year, could become the club's long-term skipper. However it is the Saints' players who will decide on who leads them this year with Lyon saying that the players will vote on the leadership group this week. The Article Paul Gough/Sportal/AFL/saints.com.au/19Feb07 AFL delivers bump warning The AFL have made a series of rule changes in an attempt to reduce the number of head and spinal injuries. This season, the penalties to players who make forceful contact to another player's head or neck have been increased and players will automatically be reported if they bump a player front-on whose head is over the ball. To be acquitted, players will need to prove the contact was unavoidable. The AFL admitted some injuries were inevitable but the results of a medical officers' review last year show there have been too many serious spinal injuries in recent years. AFL aiming to reduce serious injuries ABCSport/16Feb07 Tribunal revamp Michelangelo Rucci/AdelaideAdvertiser/16Feb07
Seven rehearses for its AFL comeback . . . Seven had all its big guns on board, most notably in the commentary box where Bruce McAvaney and Dennis Cometti were teamed together again after a five-year break. Former Melbourne star David Schwarz provided special comments, and heading up the attack from ground level was former Essendon premiership pair Tim Watson and Rick Olarenshaw, Watson offering more expert insight, while Olarenshaw, a physiotherapist, kept an eye on injuries. Olarenshaw had a chance early on to combine that job with Seven's promise to provide interviews this season with players on the interchange bench, when Melbourne ruckman Jeff White had to leave the field with a cut under the eye. At half-time, Watson and Schwarz swapped positions, "the Ox" engaging several former Melbourne teammates such as James McDonald, Cameron Bruce and Nathan Brown in interviews as they left the field for a spell on the bench. Practice match: Seven rehearses for its AFL comeback Back where he belongs Bruce McAvaney hasn't called an AFL game for 5 1/2 years, but that all changed yesterday. McAvaney, with fellow big gun caller Dennis Cometti and the whole Channel 7 footy team, had a rehearsal yesterday at Telstra Dome calling Melbourne's intraclub match. "It felt a bit strange," McAvaney said about getting behind the footy microphone again. I feel like I had been away for a long time. There was just a bit of nervous tension trying to get my head around the place. But to be honest, once we got going I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to be involved again." McAvaney couldn't hide his excitement about returning to AFL game-calling after all these years. The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/21Feb07 Players take punt on slipping net All of a sudden, the AFL is very interested in who is betting on football. Its investigators are cold-calling bookies and online agencies throughout Australia to find out which players are punting on AFL games. It may well be that the new, broadened scope of the investigation fails to turn up any more names to add to the four that have been provided by Betfair and Tabcorp, the two agencies with whom the AFL has financial and information-sharing arrangements. But this should not be taken as evidence that football does not have a problem with players on the punt. The safest bet in sports betting is that sporting competitions in Australia are the last to know what is really going on. Certainly this is the view of Betfair, the UK-based agency that has information-sharing agreements with Cricket Australia, European and English football and international tennis. The Article Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/20Feb07 Gambling audit hits SA hurdle Michelangelo Rucci/HeraldSun/20Feb07 Bookies reluctant to reveal gamblers Damian Barrett & Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/20Feb07 Umps fear rules backlash Umpires fear an angry backlash from fans, players and coaches as they go about policing the AFL's controversial hands-in-the-back rule. They fear becoming scapegoats for being forced to implement a rule that could be impossible to consistently interpret. AFL Umpires' Association president David Howlett yesterday said the rules had been introduced without consulting the umpires. He said it again highlighted the need for the AFL to appoint a field umpire to the Laws of the Game committee. Howlett said several umpires had expressed concerns over the difficulty of interpreting the rules. The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/21Feb07 Clubs are getting to grips with in-the-back rule: umpires coach AAP/TheAgeRealFooty/21Feb07 How Demetriou left the AFL with egg on its face and an apology to make A possible $1m waste of taxpayers' money, when federal police embarked on an ultimately futile search to determine whether the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority had leaked the names of footballers using illicit drugs to The Sydney Morning Herald, has further poisoned the relations between the AFL and the Federal Government. The cost of ASADA's investigation was revealed in a Senate Estimates Committee hearing last week, drawing a sharp response from former federal sports minister Senator Rod Kemp, who asked whether AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou had apologised for demanding the investigation. The Article Roy Masters/SydneyMorningHerald/24Feb07 Foxtel soars as subscriptions flood in Pay-TV group Foxtel is on track to boost annual net profit by more than 10 times after yesterday posting strong interim results and revealing that subscription demand is at a seven-year high. Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams said subscriptions were gaining momentum even before the AFL pay-TV deal signed earlier this month. "The first seven weeks of 2007 were some of the best we have seen since the late 1990s," he said. "I think we have a momentum, and what's particularly interesting about it is we didn't advertise at all in January." Foxtel's 25 per cent owner Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd yesterday revealed it had recorded a $6.8 million net profit from its Foxtel interest in the past six months, inferring a $27.2 million net profit on a wholly owned basis. The Article Jane Schulze/TheAustralian/24Feb07 AFL a contender for narrowcasting AN AFL channel could emerge on one of the two new television services to be auctioned by the federal Government later this year. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking public comment on what may be allowed under the definition of narrowcasting. ACMA's final decision on the issue will partly determine the economic value of Channel A, one of the two digital channels. Potential bidders for the channel are expected to argue for a broad definition to increase the commercial appeal of the service. But the free-to-air TV networks - which are barred from bidding for the channel - will argue for a tight definition as they fear narrowcasts could siphon away advertising. The Article Jane Schulze/TheAustralian/22Feb07 GO BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
