Tribute Match Break - AFL Grass Roots Football Week

Junior Days: I remember when ...
The day before the Hall of Fame Tribute Match sees the last of afl.com.au's Junior Days, in which AFL footballers share some of their memories from the under age divisions. Today, we are finishing with three of the competition's young guns: Glen Chivers from the Saints, Lions' big man Matthew Leuenberger and Collingwood's key defender Nathan Brown.
Glen Chivers
1. Which junior club did you play at? - Ashburton Redbacks - the same club as Luke Ball
2. What is your first memory of junior footy? - I just loved playing with the team. We had a good group of boys and it was a great experience.
3. What is your favourite memory of junior footy? - Winning premierships in under-14s and under-15s.
4. Who did you barrack for in the AFL as a kid? - Sydney Swans David Armitage
1. Which junior club did you play for? - Eastern Swans in Mackay back in the under-10s.
2. What is your first memory of junior footy? - Running around and snapping goals from the pocket.
3. What is your favourite memory of junior footy? - Winning the under-14s grand final with all my mates from school.
4. Who did you barrack for in the AFL as a kid? - Geelong, but when Brisbane started winning I got on their bandwagon
Harvey and Burke support grassroots footy
Former St Kilda player Nathan Burke joined Club legend Robert Harvey this week at Linen House Oval to promote the AFL's Community Weekend. The two St Kilda champions helped highlight the importance of grassroots footy, the stepping stone to life in the big league. In his 21st year for the Saints, Harvey will return to the Club where it all started on Saturday, as his junior club Seaford takes on Burke's junior club, Pines. More than 300 AFL players will be returning to grass-roots football matches this weekend as community football clubs across the country celebrate Community Football Weekend.
BJ returns to roots
... The midfielder returned to his home town for a footy clinic with Latrobe Valley primary school students. Goddard played his junior football in Traralgon before moving on to Gippsland Power and was drafted by the Saints in 2003. Goddard said the clinic was a wonderful opportunity for country students to get involved. "I've often come back to Traralgon but I've never been involved in a clinic before so it's great to see all the country kids here getting excited," Goddard said. "Being in the country they don't get much opportunity to meet AFL players so it's quite good. The kids may run around like headless chooks out there but the main thing is that they're having fun" ... Goddard is also expected to attend this weekend's Morwell vs Traralgon match as part of the AFL's commitment to the 150 Years of Australian Football Community Weekend.
Dempster returns to origin
... Fans from East Gippsland have always monitored the progress of Sean Dempster, if only because of the commitment he showed just to make the AFL. Dempster grew up in Victoria's eastern-most town, Mallacoota, which is the only Victorian town of any size (it has a population of 1000) not to have a footy club. As a teenager, he was driven 100 kilometres to the closest footy town, Orbost, to train and play with Snowy Rovers. Today, the St Kilda midfielder will return to East Gippsland to watch Orbost-Snowy Rovers, the merged version of his old club, play at Lucknow, which is just out of Bairnsdale. Dempster might struggle to identify with the merged club, which wears a version of Orbost's bridge across the Snowy River on its jumper, but the long journey to get to the game should be no problem.
McQualter given mini revival
When Andrew McQualter was delisted by St Kilda at the end of last year, he feared his career was over. But, after 23 games for the Saints, McQualter was determined to re-ignite his career and began pre-season training with Hawthorn. While the Hawks never promised the 21-year-old a place on its list, he considered his best chance of a second crack was at Waverley. So imagine McQualter's surprise when the Saints took him back with their third pick in December's rookie draft. "I was happy," he said. "It was a little bit of a surprise because I didn't think it would happen. But I'm very grateful to get it. The opportunities aren't there as much when you're on the rookie list but it is still an opportunity and I have to do what I can do." 'Mini', as he is known to St Kilda fans, played six games for St Kilda last year but says he half-expected to be given his marching orders at season's end. "It was very disappointing for me but it probably wasn't a total shock," he said. "I didn't play well last year and couldn't get things right. But I've trained pretty hard through the off-season."
X wins this week's Army Award
St Kilda utility Xavier Clarke is in the running for this week's Army Award for his diving smother on Richmond's Luke McGuane on Saturday night. Clarke's smother created an important turnover in a match the Saints won by three points.
St Kilda stuck in the middle
Ross Lyon is going to earn his money in the next month or so. With Nick Riewoldt sidelined, and Fraser Gehrig struggling to hit the scoreboard for the Casey Scorpions, let alone St Kilda, he needs to find some goals from somewhere - and in a hurry. Stephen Milne frustrates at times but he has been underrated over the years. He is a pure goalkicker who goes into a frenzy every time the ball enters his team's attacking 50m. A magnificent crumber who reads the flight of the ball beautifully, and always puts himself in a dangerous position. To kick seven goals and single-handedly get his team across the line against Richmond on Saturday was one of the better efforts of the year. But it will be too much to expect a man standing 178cm to hold things together until Riewoldt's return. Milne has kicked 18 goals for the year from 31 shots, eight more than any other Saint. Opposition clubs will now make him their primary focus. Justin Koschitzke has blossomed before in the absence of Riewoldt and may have to again, but the glaring shortfall of goals from the midfield is the area of most concern. Crisis, if that's what the captain's absence amounts to, can also create opportunity. If the scoring load can be more evenly distributed in the coming weeks, not only will St Kilda benefit in the short term, but it will be far better placed to make an assault on finals action in the last 6-8 weeks of the season. Quite simply, their quality onballers have shown little inclination during their careers to push forward and kick goals. It's an unusual situation. The last thing you need to encourage young footballers to do is to have a shot at goal. Everyone wants to be the goalkicker. So what is it with this group of Saints? Nick Dal Santo and Lenny Hayes have kicked one goal each for the year. Rob Harvey has kicked two, both on Saturday night, Leigh Montagna has three and Luke Ball four. That's 11 goals in total. Bulldog Adam Cooney has all of them covered, with 11 goals this season.
AFL's P plate coaches still have a lot to learn
You can wear the nattiest suit, put together the slickest power-point presentation and spout coach-speak gobbledegook till you're blue in the face but all that counts for nowt when the ball is bounced on game day - and you're the one running the show in the coaches' box. Tactics can't be mapped out on a white board, or slide projector, or gleaned from a text book. The game doesn't flow in neat lines; it veers here, there and everywhere. There's no pattern to it; it's about as inexact a science as you can get. Successful coaches have to rely on gut feel, a watertight game plan, sharp tactical awareness and the ability to think clearly under major duress. Moreover, they need to have deft man-management skills, and a talent for lucid communication and making inspirational speeches. In short, it's a monumentally tough gig. The performances of Mark Harvey, Dean Bailey, Ross Lyon and Matthew Knights this season - all of whom are in their first or second season in the job - have been revealing. For a while they have all talked a great game as assistant coaches, and had a mastery of the gibberish that passes these days for a knowledge of the game, they've spent a good part of their brief senior careers just trying to keep their head above water and not drown ... At St Kilda, supporters ask why Lyon - with Justin Koschitzke, Nick Riewoldt and (an admittedly ageing) Fraser Gehrig in his forward line, and Stephen Milne waiting for the crumbs - would want to do anything other than bomb the ball long towards them, rather than circumnavigate the flanks at the speed of an arthritic tortoise. As a spectacle, the Saints' tentative forays forward are truly painful to watch. Only a profoundly lucky win over Richmond at the weekend prevented them from sliding into the bottom eight.
Season over for St Kilda's Matt Maguire
Luckless St Kilda key defender Matt Maguire has been ruled out for the remainder of the AFL season after breaking his foot. Maguire, 23, suffered the injury during Saturday's narrow win over Richmond. He was initially expected to only be sidelined for a few weeks. But the Saints confirmed on Monday that Maguire had fractured the fourth metatarsal, ending his season. Maguire also missed 11 matches last year with a serious injury to his other foot and also suffered hamstring problems early in 2008. The three-point victory over the Tigers came at a heavy cost for the Saints. Skipper Nick Riewoldt will miss 3-4 weeks with a strained medial ligament in his knee, while forward Xavier Clarke is out for three weeks with a hamstring strain. Fullback Max Hudghton was a late withdrawal against the Tigers and is also likely to miss St Kilda's next two games with a hamstring injury. But tagger Steven Baker is likely to be fit to take on Collingwood after the bye weekend for the Hall of Fame match after jarring his knee against Richmond at Telstra Dome.
Riewoldt jack-knife
St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt is out of action for three to four weeks with a medial ligament tear, but there were initial fears he had done more extensive damage. When Richmond's Luke McGuane slung Riewoldt heavily into the Telstra Dome turf, he landed on the inner side of his left ankle. This caused the inner side of his knee to "jack-knife" open and then his knee smacked heavily on the turf, causing a contusional-impact blow. Riwewoldt has a medium-severity ligament tear. Riewoldt took his free kick but soon realised the knee was too sore and he spent the rest of the match on the bench icing his knee. Although club doctors knew immediately he had a medial injury, there would have been concerns over deep bone bruising, a small fracture or possible cartilage damage as well. Medial ligament (MCL) injuries are the most common knee ligament problems in sport. In AFL circles they most commonly occur when an opponent falls across the outer (lateral) side of the knee, causing it to buckle in towards the other knee. All ligaments have a certain amount of elasticity or "give" before damage occurs, but when two 90kg players collide at speeds up to 30km/h, it is not surprising the tolerance limits of ligament tissue fail around knees, shoulders and ankles. Knee medial ligament tears usually settle well with conservative rehab, so no surgery is required in most cases ... Riewoldt had scans yesterday and the club is happy he has an isolated grade two tear without deeper damage. He may require a short time in a brace but will begin rehab straight away and may return by Round 10.
Kosi cleared of striking
No action was taken against Richmond's Luke McGuane for the tackle that has forced St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt out for at least two matches with a knee injury. The panel decided McGuane's action, which left Riewoldt with a strained medial ligament, was a single motion and therefore not unreasonable ... In a warning to tacklers this season, the panel will act if it believes a player picks up and dumps an opponent in separate actions. Match-day reports against St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke (striking), Western Bulldogs' Stephen Tiller (front-on bump) and West Coast's Chad Fletcher (striking) were thrown out.
Maguire foot slog
Matt Maguire's career has suffered another crushing blow, with scans revealing a season-ending break in his battered left foot. The St Kilda defender will have surgery to repair a fracture to the fourth metatarsal, one of the long bones that connects the middle of the foot to the base of the toes. Despite earlier reports that Maguire's latest problem was on his right side, the Saints yesterday confirmed the break was in the same foot that has hobbled him in the past. In more positive news for the Saints, skipper Nick Riewoldt is expected to miss only three to four weeks after scans yesterday revealed a minor strain to the medial ligament in his left knee. At best, Riewoldt will miss only two games -- against Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions -- before returning against Melbourne in Round 10. Maguire, who emerged from tests yesterday fighting back tears, has already overcome stress fractures to the navicular bone in his left foot. The injuries severely hampered the 23-year-old's 2007 campaign and interrupted his pre-season training regimen leading into this year. The Saints have urged to Maguire to forget about trying to return this year and focus on getting his body right. "It's no good. Not good at all," St Kilda football manager Matthew Drain said yesterday. " He's effectively gone for the season. But it might actually give Matt the best chance of getting everything right without the pressure of getting back to play. It might turn out to be the best thing for him in the long run."
Goose has fractured the 'fourth metatarsal'
... St Kilda football manager Matthew Drain said Maguire complained of soreness after the game. "He has had some soreness during the game, he didn't know how bad that was so it's only post-game that it has been identified that he has fractured his fourth metatarsal," Drain said. Maguire told Channel Ten it would be a long time before he was able to play again. "She's not great, it's just very disappointing," he said. It is the same foot that Maguire broke last year but a different bone. Maguire was playing just his fourth game of the season when the injury occurred against Richmond on Saturday night, having had a delayed start to the season as he recovered from an injury-plagued 2007 season. After breaking his leg in round 18, 2006 against West Coast - Maguire made it back for the start of last season but then broke his foot in the opening game and did not play again until round 14. And now the 23-year-old, who is stranded on 99 games, is facing another long stint on the sidelines. It is the second crushing blow for the Saints following the narrow win over Richmond - which lifted the pre-season champions into fifth place - after skipper Nick Riewoldt was ruled out for the next month after straining his medial ligament in a tackle from Richmond's Luke McGuane. The Saints, who face a Friday night blockbuster against Collingwood immediately after this week's break for the AFL Hall of Fame match, have also lost veteran full-back Max Hudghton.
Small win comes at big cost
... Nick Riewoldt is St Kilda's main concern ... Xavier Clarke tore a hamstring and will miss at least the next month because of his history of soft tissue problems. Steven Baker could not return to the ground because of a knock to his knee on Saturday night, but he is expected to be available after this weekend's bye because of the Hall of Fame tribute match at the MCG. Full-back Max Hudghton did not play against the Tigers after straining his hamstring at training last Thursday and he is likely to be out of the game for at least the next month. Matt Maguire played out the game after receiving a bruised foot and an ankle problem, and he is expected to be available against the Magpies. Ruckman Steven King could return against the Pies after straining his hamstring a few weeks ago, but is no certainty ... the Saints are certain to recall Leigh Fisher and Jason Blake, who were omitted against Richmond. First-year defender Jarryn Geary will also come into contention for a recall. The immediate fate of Justin Koschitzke will depend on the match review panel's assessment today after he was reported by a field umpire for striking Richmond ruckman Troy Simmonds.
Lyon looks to fill gaps
... Lyon said the Saints had some young key forwards in the wings who were likely to be given a chance in Riewoldt's absence. "We've got Jarryd Allen who played in the NAB Cup, a tall forward who was an emergency last week," he said. "We opted for the experience of Fraser (Gehrig) to give him another opportunity. We've got young Ben McEvoy, a first round draft pick, really ready to go at 198cm and 98kg."

Squads for Tribute Match

Victoria: Jonathan Brown (captain), Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Daniel Bradshaw, Campbell Brown, Paul Chapman, Trent Croad, Nick Dal Santo, Brendan Fevola, Nathan Foley, Josh Fraser, Adam Goodes, Brent Harvey, Brad Johnson, Steve Johnson, Chris Judd, James Kelly, Darren Milburn, Sam Mitchell, Robert Murphy, Ryan O'Keefe, Scott Pendlebury, Luke Power, Jarryd Roughead, Matthew Scarlett, Joel Selwood, Brad Sewell, Heath Shaw, Troy Simmonds, Jarad Waite.

Dream Team: Andrew McLeod (captain), Nathan Basset, Nathan Bock, Craig Bolton, Peter Burgoyne, Shaun Burgoyne, Brett Burton, Jamie Charman, Adam Cooney, Joel Corey, Kane Cornes, Dean Cox, Daniel Cross, Leon Davis, Corey Enright, Lance Franklin, Darren Glass, Simon Goodwin, Ryan Griffen, Graham Johncock, Tadhg Kennelly, Daniel Kerr, Brett Kirk, Luke McPharlin, Cameron Mooney, Daniel Motlop, Matthew Pavlich, Matthew Richardson, Ben Rutten, Matthew Stokes.

St Kilda's "annihilated" in the middle, Lyon says
... Ross Lyon was honest enough after Saturday night's thrilling three-point win over Richmond to admit his side got totally smashed through the midfield and, as a result, possibly didn't deserve to win. The Tigers, in Lyon's words, "annihilated" St Kilda in the middle of the ground (the statistics for hard-ball-gets alone were 66-28 Richmond's way). And if not for Richmond turning the ball back over to the Saints with monotonous regularity, it would have come out on top, which would have made irrelevant the 11 seconds "lost" by the timekeepers that muddied the result. Lyon said yesterday the main worry he had with his side was that while the midfielders were performing well individually, they were yet to play well together on the same day. "The biggest concern is our midfield," Lyons said on radio 3AW yesterday. "Games are won and lost there. Your ability to put scoreboard pressure on and help your defence is from there. In a real sense, bar (Nick) Dal Santo and (Robert) Harvey last night, up to half-time, we were annihilated in there. Their ruckmen spread on us and got a lot of ball and Lenny (Hayes), who's been outstanding all year, was tagged heavily and (Leigh) Montagna was tagged heavily and struggled. It wasn't until we put (Adam) Schneider and Xavier Clarke on the wings in the second half that we got some pace and some more ball-winning ability. And as soon as that happened, we scored five goals really quickly ... So, to me, our biggest issue - and the numbers tell you that and the contested ball (stats) tell you that - at the minute, it's the midfield not supplying enough opportunity. They've all had good games but not collectively. Clearly, we'd like more goals from them."
Riewoldt in doubt for Dream Team
The Hall of Fame Tribute match looks to have lost another drawcard, with St Kilda coach Ross Lyon casting serious doubt over the chances of skipper Nick Riewoldt appearing for the Dream Team. Riewoldt, 25, landed awkwardly on his left knee early in the third quarter of Saturday night's thrilling three-point win over Richmond and took no further part in the game after hobbling to the bench. Lyon said his talented forward had suffered an injury that looked likely to cost him at least "two to three weeks", although scans once the knee has settled would provide a definitive answer. "He got slung in a tackle and he's hurt his medial. We don't know how bad, but I don't think it will be too severe but it will be significant enough," he said after the match. "I've given you full information. They grade them, they scan them, and medials can be grade one, two or three, so if it's a grade one, it could be two or three weeks. At this stage, I'd be guessing. But it's on the table; we're not hiding it like the 'reco' he had over the pre-season."
Harvey happy he kicked on
Robert Harvey has confirmed this year will be his last in the AFL, but the St Kilda champion has not ruled out playing at a lower level next season. This year, Harvey became the first footballer in VFL-AFL history to play 21 senior seasons, but such is his passion for playing he is unsure when he will give the game away. "This will be my last year in the AFL, for sure," Harvey said. "But it will hard for me to stop playing, because that's what I love to do. I might just go and play somewhere nice and safe where I can have a kick." After beginning the Telstra Dome clash on the bench, Harvey was instrumental in the Saints' pulsating three-point win with 26 possessions, 12 marks and two goals. He worked tirelessly at both ends of the ground, pumping the ball inside the Saints' attacking 50m three times and rebounding from the defensive 50m on three occasions. He had 14 touches in the first half and played a key role in quelling a Richmond surge that threatened to break open the game. Harvey was also able to find space up forward to boot his first goal of the year. As the pressure rose in the third term, Harvey produced one of the finest goals of the season when he shrugged a desperate Chris Newman tackle, changed direction, steadied and kicked truly from a tight angle in the pocket to regain the lead for his team. Harvey, who turns 37 in August, admitted this week he had been disappointed with some of the criticism he received during the pre-season, particularly after the NAB Cup semi-final against Essendon.
A whole new Ball game
... (Luke Ball) starts by declaring 2008 a "clean slate", in reference to his sadly documented battle with osteitis pubis in the past two years and then, without specific prompting - and inside two minutes of a 40-minute interview - he introduces Judd and Hodge into the conversation. He was asked about expectation. And he agreed, expectation was not the fault of the player. "No, it's not, but I'm human," Ball said. "I read every time it's written how good Chris is. I'm still getting lumped in with those two and how good those two are and how much further ahead they are. I'm human. It pricks your pride a little bit. But I love watching those two play as well as you, so it's not jealousy or anything like that. And it's not the way I need to be thinking now - I should be thinking about contributing to my team and not worrying about what's been written." Is that part of the "clean slate"? "No, no. It's just that every time those two get written about, I get thrown in. It's probably dried up a little bit . . . actually, no, it hasn't. But there comes a stage where you've got to get over it. I mean, they're happy to talk about James Hird being pick 80 or something like that, and Chris Grant at 105. That gets lost a little bit when you talk about St Kilda as well. The first thing that gets thrown up is how we've got all these top-10 draft picks. At the end of the day, and especially how even the competition is, the number just gets you there. And when you get there, you decide how far you're going to go."