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Crows fans blindsided by bump issue

Written By Unknown on Senin, 28 April 2014 | 12.50

Adelaide's Richard Douglas has received a two-game ban from the AFL tribunal for an off-the-ball bump.

Brodie Smith runs away with the ball while Callan Ward lays on the ground after a bump from Richard Douglas. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

"WHAT if" questions are in vogue. And when David Wildy took to the microphone at FIVEaa at the weekend — after former Crows rover Stephen Rowe had been hysterical behind the same megaphone — to ask a perfect what if, there was remarkable (but not unexpected) silence.

What if Greater Western Sydney captain Callan Ward bumped into concussion Adelaide co-captain Patrick Dangerfield at Adelaide Oval last Sunday — rather than be at the head-banging end of Richard Douglas's bump? The silence that follows this question confirmed there would have been outrage — and the expectation (or demand) from Crows fans that Ward be punished by the AFL match review panel and/or tribunal.

What do you think? Have your say below now

It should be remembered that Douglas pleaded guilty at the tribunal. Those who quote the game's rules should take note the Laws of the Game remind a player he faces punishment for a damaging bump if there was a reasonable alternative (which was clearly before Douglas who needs a refresher course on shepherding).

Ward battles to get up off the deck. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

And now everyone knows the AFL is holding to account any player who forces a rival off the field with concussion. Does this make the game soft? Not at all. And those who think AFL is softer than years ago should get close to a boundary fence at an AFL ground and hear how players crash into each other with crunching force.

It was not a good week in Adelaide as rose-coloured glasses led to poor analysis of the Douglas-Ward incident. And time will tell how consistent — or hypocritical — the argument will be when a Crow is concussed by a so-called fair bump.

And to former SANFL league umpire Bob Schofield. The question was not would John Worsfold be penalised by a free kick if he crashed into Tony Modra in a marking contest in 2014 rather than 1994, but whether the incident would lead to a report today when it did not 20 years ago? The bump is far from dead. But the consequence with those that lead to head injuries is most clear now.


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Should Walker play against the Dees?

Adelaide overcame a slow start and late scare to register a nine-point victory over the Bulldogs on Sunday.

Taylor Walker celebrates one of his three goals against Glenelg on Friday. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

Crows key forward Taylor Walker is declaring himself ready for AFL action this weekend rather than another hit out in the SANFL.

But 24-year-old Walker accepts the final decision on his second game after a 12-month recovery from major knee surgery rests with Crows coach Brenton Sanderson.

Should Taylor Walker make his comeback against Melbourne?

"And I will be happy with whatever decision is made," said Walker who resumed in the SANFL on Friday night at Glenelg Oval.

McDERMOTT: DON'T WAIT, BRING TEX BACK NOW!

Walker says he is 100 per cent confident he can handle a full AFL game already despite Adelaide co-captain Patrick Dangerfield saying the Broken Hill cult figure should not be rushed back to AFL action.

Walker hugs teammates after slotting another goal. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

"I played at the weekend so I am confident I am more than right," Walker said.

Adelaide's options are to play Walker against AFL rival Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday or two more SANFL games starting with the SANFL showdown with the Port Adelaide Magpies at Clare on Sunday.

RUCCI: CROWS FANS BLINDSIDED BY BUMP ISSUE

If the SANFL option is taken Walker's next chance to play in the AFL is against Collingwood in a Thursday night blockbuster at the Oval after the bye on May 15.

Asked if he could handle the full two-hour demands of an AFL game already, Walker said: "I am more than confident I would."

And of his confidence in his rebuilt right knee Walker says: "as soon as I started running and doing weights I was 100 per cent in it."

Walker also revealed he had deliberately trimmed himself from 102kg to 98kg while on the recovery path that began after an awkward landing at the MCG against Carlton last season.


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Doubts linger over Walker return

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 24 April 2014 | 12.50

Apple's massive ad song fail

Apple's massive ad song fail

APPLE'S marketing team has made a bit of a blunder in their latest ad, using a very sexually charged song throughout it.

Don't get dudded on refunds

F25bmfed: Sunshine Marketplace

YOUR chances of getting a refund are greatly improved if you keep good records. But some companies won't budge — even when presented with irrefutable proof.


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Mended Monfires ready to return

Angus Monfries is itching to return for the Power. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

PORT Adelaide midfielder-forward Angus Monfries will push for selection this weekend after training freely at Adelaide Oval on Thursday morning.

Monfries injured his hamstring against North Melbourne in Round 3 and it was feared he would miss several weeks, but he has surprised fitness staff with his speedy recovery and runs like he is ready to play.

TREDREA: LOBBE POWER'S MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER

The former Bomber hurt himself when he was chasing a Brad Ebert kick halfway through the third quarter against the Kangaroos and immediately clutched his right hamstring.

Commentators at the ground feared it would be a long-term injury, if not at least the regulation three weeks that are prescribed for the majority of hamstring injuries.

Port's trading at Adelaide Oval was scheduled to be followed by an appearance at the Burnside shopping centre as the club continues a push to win fans and supporters in new markets.

Port plays Geelong this Sunday at Adelaide Oval/


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Hinkley ready to skin Cats

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is shooting for his first win against Geelong. Picture: Sarah Reed Source: News Corp Australia

PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley believes the Power is gradually getting closer to Geelong after three tries under his stewardship and has learnt valuable lessons from each outing.

Hinkley still has enormous respect for his former side, which continues to be a competition top-liner after a decade of sustained success.

MORE: MENDED MONFRIES READY TO RETURN

But he will call on the Power's competitive nature and relentless approach to winning the ball as he seeks his first win against the Cats as a senior coach this weekend.

"It's a great challenge,'' Hinkley said. "We respect the Geelong football club and know how great they have been for such a long time.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley told the media his side's victory over West Coast at home was vert satisfying.

"We've played them three times, I think, in my time and we've been able to get a little bit closer each time.

"Hopefully we can get a little bit closer again this time and get away with a win. But we understand what a big task it is.

"We think we're improving all the time and we need to continue to improve all the time, and we know that's every game that we're together.''


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AFL is ready for openly gay player

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 09 April 2014 | 12.50

AFL 360 chat to gay footballer Jason Ball of Yarra Glen FC's senior squad in light of AFL's IDAHO day.

Richmond's Daniel Jackson (left) and Carlton's Brock McLean (right) join openly gay Yarra Glen footballer Jason Ball in a gay pride march. Picture: Andrew Tauber Source: News Limited

THE AFL will only be a truly inclusive game when a player comes out as openly gay and no one really cares.

Call it a media hunt, or extreme fascination with breaking new ground, but there is still intense interest in the first AFL player to publicly out themselves.

In the NBA Jason Collins recently came out as basketball's first active gay player to widespread support and a distinct lack of controversy.

So much so that his jumper number (98) commemorating a gay man killed and tortured in 1998 was the best-selling jersey for the club in recent weeks.

In Wednesday in Sydney the AFL will take another step when Andrew Demetriou and Sydney player Mike Pyke attend a meeting of all major sporting codes.

The aim at the meeting will be to work on measures to tackle homophobia and institute policies to tackle discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The league has come a long way since being criticised for its lack of action over Stephen Milne's homophobic taunts to Heritier Lumumba in 2011.

Pike, an ambassador for this year's gay rugby world cup The Bingham Cup, says he has no doubt an AFL player would be accepted if he came out as gay.

Like Carlton's anti-homophobia campaigner Brock McLean, Pyke has gay relatives and close gay friends.

As a Canadian, where gay marriage has been legal since 2005, Pyke is stunned we do not have the same privileges.

"It's just about creating an environment where people feel comfortable,'' he says.

"The football codes seem pretty macho and it's a matter of making sure your teammates feel as comfortable with themselves and with you.

Sydney ruckman Mike Pyke has backed marriage equality laws in Australia to match those in Canada. Picture. Phil Hillyard Source: News Limited

"You need to create an environment where people are happy to come out to not only friends, but people within the footy community.

"Certainly the statistics in our society point to the fact that there would be homosexual people in our sport, and if there are people in our clubs who do prefer the same sex and don't feel comfortable coming out, it's a real shame. It's something that gets discussed in our club occasionally and it's important that people do feel comfortable."

The AFL has telecast pro-inclusion and anti-homophobia ads on its stadium screens in recent years, with the most recent version featuring Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell and Melbourne's Nathan Jones.

"To me it doesn't make sense that we don't have same-sex marriage in Australia,'' says Pyke of the broader discussion about individual rights.

"It's pretty amazing, to be honest. Back home I am from Victoria (in British Columbia) and my mother had a bed and breakfast and some people came up from America to get married on-site. It's one of those things where I just don't understand why two people who love each other don't get the same benefits as the opposite sex."

He says more education is needed within the home and in schools to change perceptions, but it is hard to legislate to change people's minds.

Instead, people like Melbourne suburban footballer Jason Ball are as effective as any tool.

In 2012 he came out and in telling his story became the primary ambassador for this issue in our code.

Now AFL players are educated on the impact of homophobia using his experiences, with Ball leading last year's Pride March alongside McLean and Richmond's Daniel Jackson.

The reality that there are gay AFL players still hiding their sexuality means we have further to travel.

But football has come a long way since Jason Akermanis' inflammatory remarks, and is ready to accept its first openly gay player.

RALPHY DISCUSSED THIS AND OTHER TOPICS IN A LIVE CHAT EARLIER

The Brisbane Lions are without a win this season and soon they could be without defender Daniel Merrett who may have placed himself in hot water after a shocking late hit on David Swallow.

INTERVENTION HAS MERRETT

IT IS hard to think that Mark Evans will ever step in to intervene about a match review panel case if he won't refer the Daniel Merrett elbow to the tribunal.

It was a thuggish, brutal act from a player with regular tribunal appearances.

And with Merrett serving just two weeks — even with 46.56 carry-over points — it was exactly the type of incident that deserved escalation to the tribunal.

But clearly Evans is reluctant to step in, which means the AFL needs to find ways to penalise players who choose to elbow.

The direct comparison between the Nat Fyfe high contact and the Merrett elbow is confusing, because without carry-over points Fyfe would have only served one week to Merrett's two.

Merrett is also saddled with 78 carry-over points, which given his recent form are sure to bite him in the bum in the near future.

Still, the AFL community needs to feel when a player is cited the consequences for the hit are somewhere near fair.

That means the AFL needs to go back the drawing board and give elbowing a category of its own away from striking.

A strike can be an accidental hit in play, but players very rarely elbow someone if they don't mean it.

Daniel Merrett collects David Swallow. Source: Getty Images

So why not put elbowing incidents of the like of Shaun McKernan and Merrett's efforts up there on a par with kicking?

Under the AFL's match review panel directives, level 1 kicking is 125 points, level 2 is 250 points, level 3 kicking is 400 points and level 4 is 550 points.

Level 1 striking is 80 points, level 2 is 125 points, level 3 is 225 points, and level 4 is 325 points.

So if Merrett was charged with a level 4 offence as he was on Monday, he would face a 550 point penalty rather than the 325 he was allocated for striking.

With a good record and guilty plea he could still serve three weeks for the elbow with 80 or so carry over-points, which is just about par for the course.

If he had the carry-over points he had on Monday, he would serve four weeks, acceptable for a player with prior form.

David Swallow stays down after being hit high by Daniel Merrett. Picture: Adam Head Source: News Corp Australia

As it was on Monday, the match review panel couldn't do anything else, charging with him the highest intent — intentional — and the appropriate contact given Swallow suffered no injury: medium.

Their hands were tied, and the AFL chose not to act.

Right now it is better to elbow someone in the head than accidentally clash heads in a bump because rough conduct draws a heavier penalty than striking.

The match review panel's guidelines always throw up loopholes.

Of course making accidental head clashes reportable was always going to see some borderline incidents like the Fyfe hit anger fans early in the year.

The league wanted to crack down on players like Lindsay Thompson running past the ball to hip-and-shoulder and instead a pure ball player got done for bumping in the act of play.

But the league had a chance to act over McKernan's loophole and instead chose to give Evans more powers.

Given he isn't using them, it's time to rewrite the rules again.


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Wingard to miss Lions clash

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Dangerfield doubts eased

Adeladie Crows star Patrick Dangerfield struggles to get up after a heavy knock against Sydney. Picture: Sarah Reed Source: News Corp Australia

Buddy Franklin starred as Sydney secured its first win of the season, smashing the winless Crows at Adelaide Oval.

ADELAIDE is confident "bruised and battered" midfield star Patrick Dangerfield will play in Sunday's crunch clash against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

Dangerfield is nursing a sprained left ankle and a sore body which saw him train just lightly today.

After the session he was limping slightly on the heavily bandaged ankle he twisted in last Saturday's 63-point loss to Sydney at Adelaide Oval.

Will Port Adelaide have more members than the Crows by the end of the season?

But teammate Daniel Talia tipped Dangerfield to play against the Saints while stressing the Crows players had to do a better job of looking after him during matches.

"He'll be fine," Talia said, stressing how badly 0-3 Adelaide needs a win.

"I'm not sure what's even wrong with him, Patty, he's always sore.

MORE: CROUCH RECOVERY ON TRACK

"He's been getting a bit bruised and battered lately and I think he's been a bit sore from that.

"So as a team we need to do a bit more to help him out."

Adelaide expects its other trio of sore players — Scott Thompson (corked thigh), Sam Kerridge (poke in eye) and Mitch Grigg (adductor) — to also prove their fitness.

Kerridge is the one in most doubt.

Agile forward Tom Lynch is considered an outside chance to resume in the SANFL from a dislocated shoulder.


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