Injured Dogs star Darcy could return this season
Western Bulldogs star Sam Darcy could return to boost the club's AFL finals hopes later this season after avoiding the need for surgery on his injured left knee.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
High-flying Magpies won't shift AFL finals focus
Craig McRae's focus on simply qualifying for the AFL finals won't shift despite Collingwood surging six points clear on top of the ladder ahead of their mid-season bye. The Magpies head to a well-earned break with an enviable 11-2 record, having claimed a fifth-straight win in an epic King's Birthday clash with Melbourne. McRae's men could hardly be in a better position in a campaign that started with accusations they were too old and too slow after a first-up thumping from GWS. But the 2023 premiership coach won't be tempted to alter his ambitions heading into the second half of the season. "We're in this phase of qualifying and there's no other thing we're doing at the moment," McRae said after his side's 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory over Melbourne. "There's no bigger outcome than just getting enough wins to play finals. "We're all in the same (boat) and today was a really good result because the opposition were very, very good." McRae conceded the win over Melbourne wasn't overly pretty after watching his side cough up a 20-point third-quarter lead. The Demons hit the front briefly in the final term, when they finally began to take advantage of their ascendancy at the coalface. Dan McStay's late goal put Collingwood back in front before Dees duo Max Gawn and Koltyn Tholstrup missed chances to snatch the game away in the dying stages. "They're probably in there thinking they let one slip because all the numbers suggest they dominated phases of the game, particularly the contest," McRae said. "The contest was enormous but we found a way to win and that's what we do at the moment." Collingwood can further press their claims for an important top-two finish with three straight games against bottom-half teams - St Kilda, West Coast and Carlton - on return from the bye. Brayden Maynard (foot) could come back against the Saints, with Jordan De Goey (achilles) and Lachie Schultz (hamstring) also set to play roles in the second half of the season. The biggest flashpoint of Monday's match perhaps came after the final siren, when Demons duo Max Gawn and Steven May clashed. With less than a minute left, Gawn's miscued kick after a mark in the back pocket went straight to Collingwood's Will Hoskin-Elliott to confirm the result. May angrily approached Gawn on the final siren. The captain also made his feelings clear before pushing May away. "Two competitors, frustrated - two leaders (who) have an incredibly strong relationship, obviously disappointed with the outcome," said Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin. Craig McRae's focus on simply qualifying for the AFL finals won't shift despite Collingwood surging six points clear on top of the ladder ahead of their mid-season bye. The Magpies head to a well-earned break with an enviable 11-2 record, having claimed a fifth-straight win in an epic King's Birthday clash with Melbourne. McRae's men could hardly be in a better position in a campaign that started with accusations they were too old and too slow after a first-up thumping from GWS. But the 2023 premiership coach won't be tempted to alter his ambitions heading into the second half of the season. "We're in this phase of qualifying and there's no other thing we're doing at the moment," McRae said after his side's 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory over Melbourne. "There's no bigger outcome than just getting enough wins to play finals. "We're all in the same (boat) and today was a really good result because the opposition were very, very good." McRae conceded the win over Melbourne wasn't overly pretty after watching his side cough up a 20-point third-quarter lead. The Demons hit the front briefly in the final term, when they finally began to take advantage of their ascendancy at the coalface. Dan McStay's late goal put Collingwood back in front before Dees duo Max Gawn and Koltyn Tholstrup missed chances to snatch the game away in the dying stages. "They're probably in there thinking they let one slip because all the numbers suggest they dominated phases of the game, particularly the contest," McRae said. "The contest was enormous but we found a way to win and that's what we do at the moment." Collingwood can further press their claims for an important top-two finish with three straight games against bottom-half teams - St Kilda, West Coast and Carlton - on return from the bye. Brayden Maynard (foot) could come back against the Saints, with Jordan De Goey (achilles) and Lachie Schultz (hamstring) also set to play roles in the second half of the season. The biggest flashpoint of Monday's match perhaps came after the final siren, when Demons duo Max Gawn and Steven May clashed. With less than a minute left, Gawn's miscued kick after a mark in the back pocket went straight to Collingwood's Will Hoskin-Elliott to confirm the result. May angrily approached Gawn on the final siren. The captain also made his feelings clear before pushing May away. "Two competitors, frustrated - two leaders (who) have an incredibly strong relationship, obviously disappointed with the outcome," said Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin. Craig McRae's focus on simply qualifying for the AFL finals won't shift despite Collingwood surging six points clear on top of the ladder ahead of their mid-season bye. The Magpies head to a well-earned break with an enviable 11-2 record, having claimed a fifth-straight win in an epic King's Birthday clash with Melbourne. McRae's men could hardly be in a better position in a campaign that started with accusations they were too old and too slow after a first-up thumping from GWS. But the 2023 premiership coach won't be tempted to alter his ambitions heading into the second half of the season. "We're in this phase of qualifying and there's no other thing we're doing at the moment," McRae said after his side's 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory over Melbourne. "There's no bigger outcome than just getting enough wins to play finals. "We're all in the same (boat) and today was a really good result because the opposition were very, very good." McRae conceded the win over Melbourne wasn't overly pretty after watching his side cough up a 20-point third-quarter lead. The Demons hit the front briefly in the final term, when they finally began to take advantage of their ascendancy at the coalface. Dan McStay's late goal put Collingwood back in front before Dees duo Max Gawn and Koltyn Tholstrup missed chances to snatch the game away in the dying stages. "They're probably in there thinking they let one slip because all the numbers suggest they dominated phases of the game, particularly the contest," McRae said. "The contest was enormous but we found a way to win and that's what we do at the moment." Collingwood can further press their claims for an important top-two finish with three straight games against bottom-half teams - St Kilda, West Coast and Carlton - on return from the bye. Brayden Maynard (foot) could come back against the Saints, with Jordan De Goey (achilles) and Lachie Schultz (hamstring) also set to play roles in the second half of the season. The biggest flashpoint of Monday's match perhaps came after the final siren, when Demons duo Max Gawn and Steven May clashed. With less than a minute left, Gawn's miscued kick after a mark in the back pocket went straight to Collingwood's Will Hoskin-Elliott to confirm the result. May angrily approached Gawn on the final siren. The captain also made his feelings clear before pushing May away. "Two competitors, frustrated - two leaders (who) have an incredibly strong relationship, obviously disappointed with the outcome," said Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
I love Tassie footy and we need a team. But the AFL's stadium ultimatum takes a special kind of arrogance
The question is not whether the introduction of a Tasmanian team to the AFL could have been handled better, but whether it could possibly have been handled worse. The two people I feel sorry for right now are Brendon Gale, the CEO of the newly formed Tasmania Football Club, and Grant O'Brien, its chairman. Both emerged from the Penguin Football Club, a great little Tasmanian footy club that battled the odds and won occasional premierships because they were a formidably tight unit. I believe Brendon and Grant love Tassie footy, as do I. The paradox at the heart of Australian football is that it's a great game by world standards played by a tiny percentage of the world's population. It's also a 19th century game. The art of keeping it alive in the 21st century is a measure of its leaders. Right now, in Tasmania, the organisation demonstrating this art with zest and conviction is the NBL 2023-24 premiers, the Jackjumpers. Head coach Scott Roth crisscrosses the state meeting locals and talking about his game. People are impressed. I hear his stories being retold. You could write a footy TV drama, a black comedy, and title it The Stadium. It would tell the story of a proud little footy state that battles away for well over a century – and, for a period in the 1960s, produces the best and most exciting talent in the country – and then finally gets its chance to play in the big time BUT … a condition is attached. A condition never attached before. The Stadium. Tassie will build, and basically pay for, a new stadium. Along with nearly all the AFL's brainstorms, the idea comes from America. It's a way of divorcing investors from the social costs of sport. The Stadium was also awarded – again, no one seems to know exactly how – the Macquarie Point site. Hobart's renowned beauty has two obvious aspects, the mountain and its colonial waterfront. The Stadium will dwarf the colonial waterfront, sitting behind it like a giant hamburger bun. (And good luck with the glass roof on days when the fierce old Tassie sun, unhindered by the ozone layer, breaks through). The first question my TV drama will ask is – whose idea was this? The AFL, you see, insist it is not theirs. They say it came from the presidents – that is, the 18 AFL presidents who meet on Tuesday to consider whether the Tasmania Football Club's invitation could be withdrawn in light of the ongoing trouble over this idea of theirs which has now precipitated a state election in which the two major parties will support The Stadium and a majority of Tasmanian voters will oppose it.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
I love Tassie footy and we need a team. But the AFL's stadium ultimatum takes a special kind of arrogance
The question is not whether the introduction of a Tasmanian team to the AFL could have been handled better, but whether it could possibly have been handled worse. The two people I feel sorry for right now are Brendon Gale, the CEO of the newly formed Tasmania Football Club, and Grant O'Brien, its chairman. Both emerged from the Penguin Football Club, a great little Tasmanian footy club that battled the odds and won occasional premierships because they were a formidably tight unit. I believe Brendon and Grant love Tassie footy, as do I. The paradox at the heart of Australian football is that it's a great game by world standards played by a tiny percentage of the world's population. It's also a 19th century game. The art of keeping it alive in the 21st century is a measure of its leaders. Right now, in Tasmania, the organisation demonstrating this art with zest and conviction is the NBL 2023-24 premiers, the Jackjumpers. Head coach Scott Roth crisscrosses the state meeting locals and talking about his game. People are impressed. I hear his stories being retold. You could write a footy TV drama, a black comedy, and title it The Stadium. It would tell the story of a proud little footy state that battles away for well over a century – and, for a period in the 1960s, produces the best and most exciting talent in the country – and then finally gets its chance to play in the big time BUT … a condition is attached. A condition never attached before. The Stadium. Tassie will build, and basically pay for, a new stadium. Along with nearly all the AFL's brainstorms, the idea comes from America. It's a way of divorcing investors from the social costs of sport. The Stadium was also awarded – again, no one seems to know exactly how – the Macquarie Point site. Hobart's renowned beauty has two obvious aspects, the mountain and its colonial waterfront. The Stadium will dwarf the colonial waterfront, sitting behind it like a giant hamburger bun. (And good luck with the glass roof on days when the fierce old Tassie sun, unhindered by the ozone layer, breaks through). The first question my TV drama will ask is – whose idea was this? The AFL, you see, insist it is not theirs. They say it came from the presidents – that is, the 18 AFL presidents who meet on Tuesday to consider whether the Tasmania Football Club's invitation could be withdrawn in light of the ongoing trouble over this idea of theirs which has now precipitated a state election in which the two major parties will support The Stadium and a majority of Tasmanian voters will oppose it.
