The mis-kick that launched AFLW season 10; Hawks could regain Will Day to face Blues
Adelaide star and league best-and-fairest winner Ebony Marinoff, and Brisbane player Ally Anderson, enter the 2025 season with a shared-record 93 games and are set to be the first players to reach 100 AFLW games.
Marinoff, who was drafted in 2016 – the same year as Brisbane Lions star Hugh McCluggage – said the fact that McCluggage notched up 200 AFL games last week put the 100-game AFLW milestone into perspective.
'There will be a few that reach the 100-game milestone compared to the 200-games men,' Marinoff said.
'I'm not sure how that coincides but naturally in the first few years we played seven to eight games, and a few more now. But it's an awesome milestone and given the fact that I've played footy all my life and didn't really think that was a possibility to reach 100 games for an AFL club, so it will be pretty cool.'
Bulldogs midfielder Ellie Blackburn said she was looking forward to the 2025 season and was glad to see the controversial condensed fixture removed.
'No midweek games, I think it probably allows players to settle a little bit more,' she said. 'You're not focused on the external noise as much as what you probably would have been in previous seasons.'
The AFLW's growth has skyrocketed over the last decade, with a recent collective bargaining agreement ensuring all players are paid full-time. However, a detailed review of AFLW has concluded that the players' wish for an expanded season by 2031-32, in which every team played each other once, would come at a $200 million annual loss.
But AFLW general manager Emma Moore said she was incredibly proud of the game's growth across the decade, highlighting the improvement of facilities and infrastructure across the country to 'unlock the game for girls'.
'What I am most looking forward to over the next decade is that we're really focused on growth, and we know exactly what we're doing,' she said.
'We've released a draft strategy, and we'll be finalising that in August. It's a long-term strategy and vision, and we will look to be the best competition in the country for women's sport, and we're really, really proud of that goal.'
Happy Day: Star Hawk could face Blues on Thursday
Jon Pierik
Hawthorn star Will Day is firmly in the selection mix to return from injury for Thursday night's clash against Carlton.
Day has not played since round three because of a stress fracture in his right foot, but has progressed well over the past month and rejoined full training.
A club spokesman said should the 2023 Peter Crimmins medallist emerge unscathed from the Hawks' main training session on Tuesday, he will be in line to face the Blues at the MCG.
The Hawks, however, will be without Finn Maginness, who remains in hospital in Hobart after having surgery on a lacerated kidney. Maginness was hurt in the 38-point win over Port Adelaide in Launceston on Saturday.
Key forward Mabior Chol is nursing groin soreness but could also be in the frame to face the Blues.
However, a Chol return could mean a selection squeeze, for the Hawks already have key talls Mitch Lewis, back from a knee reconstruction, and Calsher Dear up forward.
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘It's a no-go': Giants captain busted in apparent dirty act
The AFL has been told to look at new footage of an apparent ugly act by Giants captain Toby Greene during the club's big win over the Swans. Greene has already been hit with a one-match suspension for striking Swans star Isaac Heeney during the spiteful Sydney derby and the 31-year-old could now face further attention from the AFL. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. New vision of an apparent second striking act was first shared on Channel 9's Footy Classified on Monday night with the mercurial small forward appearing to kick Swans defender Dane Rampe in the groin region. The new vision shows Greene lashed out kicking directly behind him between Rampe's legs during a heated confrontation before the start of the game. Vision from behind the goals showed Rampe giving Greene some special attention with multiple attempts to push and shove his opponent behind play. As the ball was bounced to start the game, Greene then kicked out behind him. According to Channel 9, the AFL was not aware of the incident before Monday night. Greene's elbow to the side of Isaac Heeney's head was the only charge handed down following the AFL Match Review Officer's review of the game with the league stating 'there were no incidents requiring a detailed explanation'. You can watch the incident in the video player above. Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd on Monday night told the AFL and new general manager of football performance Greg Swann the league needs to come out and make a public statement about Greene's uncovered act. 'I feel that the AFL will look at this,' Lloyd said. 'I'm not sure what they do after the event or if this is the first time they've heard about or known about the vision. 'The groin region and an intentional kick going to that region, it certainly must be re-looked at by the AFL. I'd expect a statement from them in the next 24 hours.' Former GWS board member Jimmy Bartel said 'kicking is a no-go' in football and pointed to Greene's poor discipline in important matches, with seven incidents cited from finals or so called 'big' games. 'It's still pretty average,' the Brownlow medallist said. 'Kicking is a no-go and then kicking to the groin region and throwing your legs back like that. 'This is the issue with Toby Greene, especially in big games he sees the red mist worse than most. That's the problem.' Greene's suspension for striking Heeney comes ahead of a crucial finals-shaping Thursday night fixture for the Giants against the Western Bulldogs. With the Giants and Bulldogs both winning on Friday night, eight premiership points still separates the clubs, with the Dogs in a must-win position ahead of the clash at Marvel Stadium in Round 21. Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown put Greene's 'undisciplined' act down to being 'too amped up' to start the match. 'Yeah, it is late. So, you can understand some sort of fine,' he said on Fox Footy on Friday night. 'He was just a bit fired up, he was a bit hot under the collar — maybe a bit amped up too much in the first half, and that just showed out in some of the undisciplined nature of the acts in the first half.' Fellow Lions great Alastair Lynch added: 'I think that's where Adam Kingsley's coming from — he didn't make the right impact in that first half and (needed) a bit of a reset. I don't think the Isaac Heeney one's a good look.' Fox Footy's Ben Dixon said he had close eyes on Greene during the first quarter watching from the sideline. 'No shots fired during the week, very quiet leading into Derby 31 and Toby Greene might've been saving his rounds because the first quarter he was firing shots left, right and centre,' he said from the boundary line. 'Isaac Heeney's 'don't argue' on Toby Greene, he said 'I'm not having that', comes in with a forearm to the head, reverse free kick. That was holding the ball. 'And then off the ball with Aaron Francis, just one to the chest, throwing his weight around. 'He's not going to miss many tonight the way the captain's going about it.' Greene also showed his contempt towards fellow agitator Tom Papley heading to the halftime break, telling Fox Footy 'he's looking overweight, see how he goes second half'.
7NEWS
2 hours ago
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‘Overweight' Tom Papley claps back at Toby Greene with midnight DM sledge
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The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
A rugby Test for the ages - and a decision that will be debated for years
It was, friends — the result aside — rugby at its very best. The second thing to celebrate was just how wonderfully the Wallabies played. I want my Australian teams to bleed for the jersey, to back themselves, to eschew the percentage play in favour of a damn-the-torpedoes, full-speed-ahead approach — and that is exactly how they played from the outset. After losing last week, our blokes started the match as heavy underdogs, criticised by former Lions coach Clive Woodward for having a 'losing mentality,' and there was a widespread feeling that we were simply outclassed. But under the captaincy of Harry Wilson, the Wallabies looked like a different team from the opening whistle. The lineouts worked. The scrums worked. Courtesy of the likes of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini coming into the pack this week, we had so much go-forward in the collisions that the Lions forwards were reeling with every clash. Loading In the backs, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Tom Wright and Max Jorgensen made break after break. With 10 minutes to go before half-time we had gone out to an 18-point lead, 23-5, courtesy of fabulous tries to James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright - and it really looked as if not just a win but a blow-out win was on the cards! Even when the Lions came back with two tries of their own just before half-time, hope sprang eternal. Still, the Wallabies didn't back off, tackling themselves red-raw as the Lions launched raid after raid. Halfway through the second half, the Australians even had the line wide open for what might have been the winning try, only for the ball to be lost in heavy contact after Suaalii made a great break. It all came down to the final minute, with the Wallabies clinging to a 26–24 lead — only for the Lions to go over in extremis, in the corner. Many felt Lions flanker Jac Morgan's pulling down of Carlo Tizzano at a ruck just before Hugo Keenan scored, should have seen the try disallowed. Maybe. Maybe not. The ref said it was a legitimate try, and so be it. That technical loss aside, there was victory off the field in having staged such a match at the MCG — before a Lions world-record crowd of just over 90,000 — with many Victorians seizing the rare opportunity to witness a game of such global significance. With that in mind, I'll leave you with the words of Mr AFL himself, Eddie McGuire, who texted John Eales and myself immediately after the match ended. Folks, here's… Eddie!' 'What an amazing night for your code. 90,000 at the MCG! 'Record. Amazing game,' McGuire messaged. 'Not sure why we didn't get the last penalty. Ref has no idea about setting up a huge result and a big final game. Another effing tax auditor ruining the game!! 'Almost the perfect result. Still an amazing night. You should be very proud of the rugby culture. A week of joy. More please!' More to come, Eddie. It will be at the Olympic Stadium, next Saturday night. The Australians will be waiting for the Lions. They're a team that has grown before our eyes over this past week, a team to be proud of. They will be even better next week, and if there is a rugby God, this time it will go our way! Either way, the second Test was one for the ages and congrats to the British and Irish Lions and their supporters on a magnificent win.
