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Swans say goodbye to techno advantage The Adelaide Crows and St Kilda are going to war with the Sydney Swans next year. And while Andrew McLeod's brilliant dash out of the middle, Nick Riewoldt's bravery under the ball or Barry Hall's brawn will play key roles in deciding the victor, it is a bloodless techno-war, fought on laptops and data sheets, that could make all the difference. For three years, the Swans have held an advantage over the rest of the field after adapting a revolutionary injury prevention system from European soccer giant AC Milan to their own needs. It has garnered them two grand final appearances and one flag. Enough is enough, as far as the Crows and Saints are concerned. If Sydney has unlocked a secret to success, they want the key. The Crows have opened negotiations with Reason Incorporated -- the company that so successfully adapted the AC Milan injury predictor for the Swans and cut the club's injuries by 57 per cent. St Kilda, alternatively, has pilfered the man who put the Reason system into action. After a year as head coach at St Kilda, former Swans assistant coach Ross Lyon decided he could not do without David Misson, the Swans' elite performance manager who will now be the general manager of strength and conditioning at Moorabbin. More Stephen Rielly/RealFooty05Nov07
In spring, unlikely alliances cloud the air ... Richmond Football Club president Gary March is hanging out with former St Kilda rivals Rod Butterss, Andrew Plympton and Glen Casey ... Most ironic is the growing allegiance between March, who founded Concept Sports back in 1992, and a trio of former St Kilda board members. Barely a month has passed since Butterss and Casey left the St Kilda board rather than subject the club to a bitter boardroom battle. Parsimony was their alleged crime. To put the debt-ridden Saints back in the black, Butterss and Casey decided to keep a tight rein on spending. That policy lost them their St Kilda jobs - but has helped win Casey the job as chief executive of Concept Sports. More Mark Hawthorne/TheAge/08Nov07
Harley tips Saints and Dogs as likely challenges in 2008 ... Harley was at yesterday's launch of the new Geelong logo and corporate brand. The former Port Adelaide player tipped St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs as two clubs likely to bounce back and challenge the Cats in 2008. "The beauty about pre-season, as a player, is you get to wipe the slate clean from the year before," he said. "So there will be clubs like the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda, sides that missed the eight who have really talented lists, they'll be feeling like we did in October last year, and so they should because it's such an even competition." More Caroline Wilson/RealFooty/02Nov07
SOS and wife Jo are busy with Noosa Tri festival As the mother of the three young footie kids and being "married" to two AFL clubs, former Looking Good television host Jo Silvagni is used to running around flat-out. But come Sunday, the former model who shot to national fame on Sale of the Century under her maiden name Jo Bailey, is likely to feel like she has competed in the Noosa Triathlon that she is here to help promote ... "Jack has just started club footy and Steve now is assistant coach at St Kilda so our weekend (during the season) is Auskick, watching Jack and then a St Kilda footie game. The boys barrack for Carlton so we watch a Carlton game as well" ... There is a rumour going around that Steve will be press-ganged into taking part in the legends race, but he was not admitting to anything other than enjoying the laidback Noosa lifestyle. More
Peter Gardiner/SunshineCoastDaily/02Nov07
Lead held by AFL teams in the Footy Legends Tri ... AFL Legends' Steve Silvagni was the last man standing and about looking to do a runner. His team-mate Richard Champion had powered through the swim to make them a competitive third-last going into the bike. "I used every stroke there is and even invented a few of my own," Champs said while Steve moaned something about 2km of torture as he jogged away. More Peter Gardiner/SunshineCoastDaily/04Nov07
Gehrig escapes conviction Four footballers involved in a wild Grand Final eve pub brawl last year have all dodged convictions but the pub's patron did not. Former St Kilda footballer Stephen Lawrence was fined $5000 yesterday after pleading guilty to one charge of intentionally causing injury to bar patron Julius Smith during the alcohol-fuelled brawl at St Kilda's Prince of Wales hotel. Saints forward Fraser Gehrig and Brisbane Brownlow medallists Michael Voss and Simon Black were also penalised without conviction after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the melee on September 29 last year. Magistrate Paul Smith said yesterday that Lawrence had no prior convictions, had shown remorse and had a promising future in the property industry, and would therefore not be convicted. Mr Smith also allowed Voss, Black and Gehrig to avoid a criminal record by entering a diversion program for first-time offenders. However the only non-footballer involved in the drunken fight was convicted and fined. More
Kate Jones/HeraldSun/31Oct07
Lawrence fined $5,000 over pub brawl HeraldSun/39Oct07
Ashley Sampi leaves Eagles, will enter AFL draft Forgotten Eagle Ashley Sampi wants to leave Perth to revive his AFL career. Sampi met West Coast coach John Worsfold yesterday and told him he needed a change of scenery to give himself a chance of playing again. The 23-year-old, who didn't play a game this season, was expected to have a fitness test at Subiaco in a hope of saving his career with the Eagles. However he got in first, explaining that he needed to escape his present environment in order to resurrect his career. "Ashley elected not to do that test and indicated he would like to explore the possibility of continuing his career at another club," Worsfold said. "We agreed that it would probably be in his best interests to go down that path, so he will be delisted." More
Scott Gullan/HeraldSun/31Oct07
How well is your AFL club travelling? Collingwood took finals football to a new level this year, chartering a plane and flying at low altitude after defeating West Coast in a thrilling semi-final at Subiaco. A week later, the Magpies lost by just five points to eventual premier Geelong, further fuelling speculation the club may charter more flights ... Of the non-Victorian teams, Port Adelaide was the most improved away from home this season, with six wins from nine games. Last year the Power lost seven games on the road. West Coast had six wins from 10 interstate games in 2007 and pushed its record away from Subiaco above 50 per cent for the past five years. Adelaide lost six of 10 games away from AAMI Stadium this year, but also has a better than 50 per cent winning record away from home since 2003. Geelong, which slipped out of the eight in 2006, reversed its poor interstate record this season with three wins from five games. The Cats and Richmond each have five interstate games in 2008 and St Kilda and Melbourne six. More
Martin Boulton/RealFooty/30Oct07
Will Lyon be a Mountain, a Hill or a Valley? A bleak start to our VFL career saw us sitting on 0% until our 4th year - It took till 1905 before our cumulative Match % reached 10%. By 1908 we reached 20% before dipping back to 18% - It took till 1929 to pass the 30% barrier. We hit our all time high of 38.46% in 1976 in the last year of Allan Jeans' reign. After the "lost decade" of the 80s we dropped back to below 36% in 89. Under Sheldon, Alves and Thomas we have steadily recovered ground. Post
'Enrico_Misso' saintsational.com
Graph Research by 'Enrico_Misso'
Saints peace plan The new St Kilda board has called an end to the cold war between the Saints and Grant Thomas, welcoming back the former coach as well as ex-president Rod Butterss. Thomas has had a frosty relationship with the club after being fired last year, notably missing Robert Harvey's testimonial this season. While former friends Thomas and Butterss are still warring over a disputed loan, new board member Nathan Burke said the time for recriminations was over. Burke said the former coach and Butterss, who recently stood down for new president Greg Westaway, should return to the fold. "You can't afford to burn those type of people, good St Kilda people," he said ... St Kilda is close to announcing a new major sponsor, after Bill Express decided last month not to extend its deal. Burke said the club was speaking to several companies and was optimistic of announcing a new deal in coming weeks. The club is well down the track with the companies, and negotiating the small details on signage and hospitality issues. More
Jon Ralph/HeraldSun/28Oct07
2007: The sporting world's 'annus narcoticus' If nothing else, 2007 will be remembered as the year when sport lost its fight against drugs. When the tsunami crashed over the ramparts and deluged us all. It was the year when drugs, both recreational and performance-enhancing, moved out of the nightclubs, back alleys and BALCO laboratories and entered Australian middle-class mainstream life. On the sporting arena, the scourge destroyed both careers and lives. Indeed, 2007 will go down in sport's annals as one which plumbed new lows, an annus narcoticus, when leading figures in a variety of sports were found to have been using performance-enhancing or recreational drugs at the peaks of their careers. As a result, legends have been shattered, reputations sullied, lives lost. The revelations have come one after another, shock after shock, so much so that now there is no shock left to give. It has been replaced by a resigned sigh ... But sport was not the only area to suffer. Drugs also infiltrated the establishment. In May, leading Melbourne silk and one-time Melbourne Football Club board member Peter Hayes was found unconscious in an Adelaide hotel room and died days later from the effects of a drug overdose. A pillar of the legal community, he was married to a daughter of former Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen. Hayes' death prompted a fellow Melbourne QC, Peter Faris, to say drug use was rife among Melbourne's senior lawyers - although this claim was shouted down. Death, too, came to Chris Mainwaring, a former West Coast champion and friend of Cousins, who passed away in Perth three weeks ago at the age of 41. A toxicology report indicated Mainwaring had cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and anti-depressants in his system when he died. More
Charles Happell/Crikey.com.au/25Oct07
Coming up trumps in the trade game The recent cattle trading fair that is the AFL's player exchange period always attracts plenty of interest from fans and also sparks a healthy debate as to its the relative merits. Can you really build a premiership side around other club's cast-offs? How much 'baggage' does a potential trade target bring with him? Is it him or the club driving his move toward the exit door? Why? There are plenty of arguments for and against being an active participant in trade week, but reigning premiers Geelong provide an interesting case study. Tom Harley held the trophy aloft as the Cats' skipper and it's a fair bet he didn't envision that outcome when he began his AFL career at Port Adelaide back in 1996. Harley, along with Cam Mooney and Brad Ottens, are excellent examples of prudent trading. Six other players that helped form one of the most dominant combinations in recent memory - Paul Chapman, David Wojcinski, Steven King, James Kelly, Corey Enright and James Hunt - were drafted using picks sent to the club in exchange for players. The Crows of 1997 offer an even greater endorsement of active trading with 10 of their premiership-winning 21 of that year coming from other clubs. Each case is different, of course, but below are just a few examples of players that have not only played well at their new clubs, but taken their games to an entirely different level. More
Jason Phelan/AFL/saints.com.au/19Oct07
The rise and rise of Montagna Leigh Montagna has come a long way since the night he made his debut for the Saints in one of the youngest St Kilda teams ever to take to the field. That 2002 game against Collingwood prompted the Herald-Sun to plaster its back page with headshots of the virtual unknowns who were to do battle for the Saints. "It was 'The baby Saints'. There were about eight players who had played [less than] 10 games," recalled Montagna . "I was lucky to get my first game. There were only 24 players to pick from. So that was the only reason I got picked. I wasn't ready to play senior football." Fast forward to 2007 and "Joey" Montagna has run third in the Saints' best and fairest behind Nick Riewoldt and Sam Fisher. In an observation that would delight any coach, Montagna charts his progress over six seasons. "I think if I look at my footy, I've gradually got a bit better each year. This year was another step - I played 22 games pretty consistently. Also, the coach has had a lot more faith, playing me more on ball week-in, week-out. When you get a kick early in the season, the confidence builds and it goes from there. It was a pleasing year but it would have been better to make the finals." By his own standards, Montagna still has a long way to go as a footballer. "I'm probably nowhere near the level of fitness of the elite midfielders but it's something I'm working on each year. As you do another pre-season, you get a bit fitter and you learn to gut-run in a game. I did a full pre-season [this year], played most of the pre-season games and [was] confident [I could] run [games] out. [After a full pre-season] you also give the coach confidence that if you are spent, they can pull you off the ground for five minutes then you can go straight back into it." More
Russell Holmesby/saints.com.au/19Oct07
Price war for support staff It is a very good time to be 200cm-plus in AFL football. That was highlighted when Sydney gave Darren Jolly, hardly the next Dean Cox, a four-year deal. Only Chris Judd will land a longer contract than the man who will share the ruck duties with Peter Everitt at the Swans next year. But it is also a fine time to be a talented support staffer - assistant coach, fitness guru, development man, boxing coach ... whatever you like. The playing resources of cashed-up clubs are limited by the salary cap, but they are spending like never before in the back rooms. It's poaching season. Those with spare dollars are creating positions, not only to keep up with the Joneses, but to stay ahead of the pack ... Carlton, once the pauper, is leading the way on the inflationary spiral. If the Blues, with the clout of billionaire Dick Pratt, want their man, they get him. Justin Cordy, ex-Bulldogs and Cricket Australia fitness man, was appointed last week. He is highly regarded and the Blues were not alone in chasing him. The hired gun didn't come cheaply. The buzz in the industry is the Blues were prepared to pay as much as $300,000 a year for him ... St Kilda, with the backing of the new board, has beefed up its footy department. David Misson, regarded as the master-mind behind the Swans' amazing injury-free run, was lured to Moorabbin. He too, has a background in cricket. Again, he wouldn't have come cheaply -- even if he is not in Cordy's ball-park. More
Mike Sheahan/HeraldSun/19Oct07
Why Brooks was delisted Heard today from a source related to one of the players that the reason Brooks was finally delisted is that he lacked real drive and passion to be competitive - he could certainly play but "wouldn't harm a fly", which was often exposed at closed one-on-one training sessions. It explains why the club persevered with him in the hope that he could develop the desire to be really physical in ruck contests. Same source reckoned that Goose was extremely close to leaving - had lucrative approaches from Carlton & Richmond, and it was only after Mick Malthouse made a move to grab him that the Saints got their act together to offer him a worthwhile contract. Just as well, because he's going to be an absolute star ... Post
'saintwill66' saintsational.com
Tony Brown to Old Haileyburye Geelong Advertiser
Saint dad wants medal forfeit The father of the AFL player who Ben Cousins beat to the Brownlow by two votes wants the fallen Eagle to lose his medal. Nick Dal Santo's dad, Peter, said he didn't expect his son to get the award, but Cousins should not keep it. Debate has raged as to whether drug-troubled Cousins should be stripped of his 2005 Brownlow Medal. That year Cousins took the best and fairest with 20 votes, fellow Eagle bad boy Daniel Kerr received 19 and wholesome Saint Dal Santo 18. Some have speculated Kerr and Cousins' links with drugs should void their eligibility for the award, which recognises honourable sportsmen. That would leave the cleanskin Victorian with one of football's most cherished prizes. Peter and Eileen Dal Santo said they had discussed the issue as the Cousins saga continued ... But they said they feel their son would be embarrassed to receive the medal by default. His mother said Dal Santo has the view he wouldn't deserve it. Ms Dal Santo said as a footy parent she sympathised with Cousins' family. More
Liam Houlihan/saints.com.au/21Oct07
HeraldSun
Saints dump Brooks, Watts St Kilda has delisted four players including ruckman Barry Brooks and Fergus Watts, the son of former club chief executive Jim Watts. Brooks' delisting brings to an end his six years in the AFL system. Originally picked up by Port Adelaide from King Island as a first round selection in the 2001 AFL National Draft, the 23-year-old crossed to Moorabbin the following year. He could only manage 10 senior appearances in his five seasons at the club. The highlight of his career was his three-goal performance in the Saints' big Round 22 victory over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in 2006 ... Phil Raymond and Justin Sweeney are the other senior list players to be delisted while rookie James Wall has not been offered another contract. Sweeney made one senior appearance for St Kilda against Hawthorn in Round 8 last season ... 2007 rookies Jarryn Geary and Clinton Jones have been elevated to the senior list while Jayden Attard, Robert Eddy and Luke van Rheenen have been retained on the club's 2008 Rookie list. The Article Sportal/17Oct07 Work Ethic - Enough's enough I posted at the start of the 2007 season that one of Lyons biggest challenges, if not the biggest would be the players work ethic. Now yes, injuries certainly once again flared in the first half of season and probably reached new lows. However throughout the season the lack of an adequate work ethic remained as prominent problem at the Saints. For too long now "near enough" had been what too many players were delivering. There was lots of talent on the Saints list, but getting that talent to deliver week in week out, and quarter in quarter out had been a problem at the Saints since The Streak concluded. If you consider the teams that performed very well in 2007 (Geelong, Kangaroos and the Pies) you will see teams whose playing groups worked very hard to get the best out of themselves and who worked very hard within games. The Pies last finals match against the Cats showed this where time after time they worked very hard to get back into the game and almost won the game. By contrast during the year the Saints lost a number of games due to not delivering four quarter efforts and with some insipid last quarter efforts in particular (the Pies and Dogs games). While we all want the Saints to win games, what I always really want is to go home after a game knowing that the team has had a fair dinkum crack at it. If they do this then I am content; win lose or draw ... The Full Post by 'saintsRrising' saintsational.com  Retired AFL players to get free medical help Former AFL players will receive free specialist medical help under a groundbreaking scheme. The AFL Players' Association and AFL Medical Officers' Association have joined forces as part of the fledgling HealthKick initiative. Past players only have to pay a one-off $50 membership to qualify, with Kevin Sheedy and current coaches John Worsfold, Mick Malthouse and Leigh Matthews already on board. The players can visit any current or past member of the AFL Medical Officers' Association free of charge. Any charges will be bulk billed. Apart from the financial benefits, the AFLPA sees a significant advantage in ex-players gaining easy access to football medicos with experience at treating muscular and skeletal injuries. "Every current club doctor or former club doctor will be involved -- and they've got a network that basically covers the whole country," AFLPA operations manager Matt Finnis said yesterday. More than 900 former players have already paid the $50 membership to qualify since the scheme was introduced in October last year. Current AFL players agreed to underwrite the $2 million-a-year program, which already includes a commitment to cover the excess for any hospital visit required by a former VFL or AFL player with at least one senior game to his name -- regardless of whether the problem is football-related. More Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/14Nov07
AFL 2008 International Competition The 2008 competition has been scheduled to begin on 27th August and their may be an opportunity for its Grand Final to be played as curtain raiser to an AFL final. International players keen to see some live AFL matches will watch the Essendon vs St Kilda match at Telstra Dome on 31st August amongst others. More Brett Northey/worldfootynews.com
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