The kill was always coming. Thankfully, for all involved, it wasn’t too messy.Mark Neeld was finished as Melbourne coach the moment media powerbroker Gerard Healy stated it would be a case of “bye bye in the bye”.Healy, impeccably connected at Demon...
June 17, 2:20 pm
So the inevitable has happened and Mark Neeld has been sacked by Melbourne Football Club.The alarms bells started ringing last year, not long into his tenure, with the most concerning aspect of his coaching the fact that he didn't seem to possess a ...
June 17, 1:36 pm
It's the second of the three successive split rounds this weekend but it's still a fascinating round with GWS a chance to claim their first win of the season while Gold Coast get the opportunity to take another big scalp when they face Essendon.And ...
June 14, 9:17 am
Photo: Getty ImagesThe Jeff Garlett non-goal during Friday night's Essendon-Carlton game, which arguably cost the Blues victory, is to me a watershed moment in the AFL's goal review system.Instead of now trying to introduce Hawk-Eye style technology...
June 12, 2:36 pmSome people just know how to make a fool of themselves without even trying.This week it was ex-Hawthorn president and ex-Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, who said he wants to become pres of Melbourne Football Club.The last time I checked he barrac...
June 11, 2:27 pmCredit to Jonathan Brown for breaking the players’ code and telling it like is.Acting, or more specifically over-playing contact, is a blight on our game - and it hasn’t gone away.The AFL’s “Logie Awards” crackdown gathered steam in 2010, but has ev...
June 7, 11:10 amIt's the first of the split rounds this week as all 18 clubs get a much-deserved breather at some stage over the next three rounds.But there are still some terrific matches this week, despite the fact just 12 of the 18 teams are in action, starting ...
June 6, 5:55 pmTrust me Melbourne fans things are not as bad as they seem.The ladder might show my old club with just one win for the season and percentage of barely more than 50 but we are no Fitzroy.And the decision by the board this week not to bow to public pr...
June 5, 3:37 pm
In the aftermath of Richmond’s thrashing of West Coast on Monday night, I stumbled across an article that tells you everything you need to know about the modern-day Tigers.Edited slightly, these are the first three paragraphs:“With every tackle, eve...
June 4, 2:52 pmI want to take my hat off to Brent 'Boomer' Harvey after he played his 350th match for North Melbourne at the weekend.In my uncultured speak he is a football midget but what a champion he has been.Many years ago Anthony Rock told me about a kid who ...
June 4, 12:30 pm
Photo: Getty ImagesFollowing Eddie McGuire’s poorly thought-out and genuinely unfunny wisecrack which linked Adam Goodes with giant, fictional gorilla, King Kong, the AFL community immediately set about picking apart the Collingwood president’s comm...
May 30, 7:49 amThis was disgusting from the moment Adam Goodes spun around in disbelief.But it went to a new level shortly after 11am today. Disgusting wasn't a strong enough word.Goodes, champion player and champion person, faced the media and revealed the 13-yea...
May 25, 12:10 pm
A shellacking from a Hawthorn hell-bent on grand final revenge was followed by a very disappointing draw against Fremantle at the SCG. The Swans held the ascendancy for much of that match in what were perfect conditions but couldn’t hold the Dockers...
May 24, 10:40 pmAFL chief executives have never been better at sugar-coating exits.Melbourne’s Cameron Schwab won sympathy sitting next to his president Don McLardy, telling it like it was: “I was told to resign”.And whatever you think of Ian Robson, the latest CEO...
May 23, 3:23 pmIt's Indigenous Round in the AFL and the league is to be congratulated for the way it has led all sporting codes in celebrating Indigenous pride and heritage as well as of course putting process in place to stamp out racial abuse on and off the fiel...
May 23, 1:27 pmThe time has come for the AFL to start cracking down on players who deliberately buckle at the knees in order to win head-high free kicks.The league should do so not just out of fairness but also for the sake of player welfare because sooner or late...
May 22, 3:23 pmWhat a way to start another great round of footy with the Nic Nat and Majak show in Perth as the Eagles and North both strive to stay in touch with the top eight.WEST COAST V NORTH MELBOURNEAll eyes will be on Nic Naitanui and Majak Daw in this one ...
May 16, 12:02 pmThis time, it was impossible for the spin doctors to get their way.In past years the percentage of failed tests was on the decline, allowing the AFL to say it was winning the war on illicit drugs use.Yet today, as the league’s heavy hitters fronted ...
May 16, 12:01 pmI am still shaking my head in disbelief at the tribunal's decision to suspend Geelong's James Kelly for two matches for executing what most footy fans, current day players and indeed us former players would consider to be a perfectly executed hip an...
May 15, 2:00 pmIt's alright shooting a coach, with plenty calling for Mark Neeld's head at Melbourne, but you have to have a decent replacement ready if you do so.Usually the coach-shooting season starts at about Round 15 or 16 as the media seem to have a quota to...
May 13, 3:05 pm| Rank | Team | Won | Lost | Points |
| 1 | Hawthorn | 10 | 1 | 40 |
| 2 | Geelong Cats | 10 | 1 | 40 |
| 3 | Essendon | 9 | 3 | 36 |
| 4 | Sydney Swans | 8 | 2 | 34 |
| 5 | Fremantle | 8 | 2 | 34 |
| 6 | Collingwood | 8 | 4 | 32 |
| 7 | Richmond | 7 | 4 | 28 |
| 8 | Carlton | 6 | 6 | 24 |
| 9 | West Coast Eagles | 6 | 5 | 24 |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | 6 | 5 | 24 |
