Opinion Commentary & Media IX

[zoomba23]

That bit is actually true.

Oh yeah, well I've been to Horsham and it was...


Actually nah, fair point





Mod notice - thread rolled over

 

[gokangas]

Laura Kane shunted sideways again. Not having a happy time at HQ.

Laura Kane’s role changes again​

Andrew Wu and Michael Gleeson

Having previously run the men’s AFL competition, Laura Kane will take over executive control of the AFLW as the league seeks to fix the problems that have plagued the women’s competition.

Kane will add the executive role in the women’s game to her existing operational job in the men’s competition.

Laura Kane, will take over as AFLW executive while retaining an operations role in the men’s game. Pictured here with CEO Andrew Dillon and AFL football performance executive Greg Swann.AFL PHOTOS VIA GETTY IMAGES
The move follows a major restructure at AFL House last year.

Kane’s role as head of football was carved up and significantly reduced to an operations portfolio with most of the key areas of football taken over by veteran administrator Greg Swann. Kane was still on the executive and kept the same salary but was left with a drastically scaled back portfolio.

There have been tensions within AFL house between Kane and Swann since the former Brisbane CEO’s arrival as senior executive in charge of football. Swann has largely taken over all significant football issues other than operational matters connected to the staging of games, which still fall under Kane’s purview.

AFL General Manager of Football Laura Kane.SIMON SCHLUTER
Kane had been under-utilised since the restructure. Expanding her duties with AFLW is partly a recognition of that, and the fact an AFL review identified under-investment and resourcing of the women’s game.

Kane’s title now is executive general manager of AFLW, health and football operations.


The quality of AFLW games has improved year-on-year, but the league has been beset by problems, with issues including the timing of the season, the number of games played and, most critically, the AFL expanding the league too quickly for the depth of the talent pool.

RELATED ARTICLE​

• Analysis
• AFL 2025

‘Teething problems’, or something untenable? Behind the brewing tensions at AFL House​

Emma Moore, who was brought in from NAB in 2024 to run AFLW, will move to head up AFLW growth, while Trish Squires will be head of AFLW operations. Both roles will report to Kane.

Five new roles in AFLW partnerships, fan development, internal and external stakeholder engagement and operations will also be created.

“This new leadership structure, alongside increased investment in growth and operations, will see the competition better positioned than ever to have more people engaged in AFLW,” AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said.

A salary cap will be introduced for the AFLW from 2027.

 

[gokangas]

Dick pic saga getting more interesting.

Bombshell AFL texts and emails emerge in Luke Sayers ‘dick pic’ saga​

Text messages and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days following the eruption of the Luke Sayers lewd scandal threaten to reveal a cover-up.

Michael Warner

March 31, 2026 - 6:45PM

AFL texts and emails have emerged in the Luke Sayers lewd scandal. Picture: Michael Klein

Bombshell texts and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days after the eruption of the Luke Sayers “dick pic” scandal threaten to expose a cover-up.
The Herald Sun can reveal lawyers for Mr Sayers’ estranged wife Cate are set to subpoena correspondence between top league figures and members of his camp as part of the couple’s escalating Supreme Court fight.

Sources close to the feuding couple say the communications paint a picture of an AFL hierarchy desperate to exonerate Mr Sayers and accept his claim that his wife was mentally unstable and responsible for the posting.

In documents filed as part of their defamation battle, Mrs Sayers’ lawyers have accused the AFL of colluding with Carlton and Mr Sayers, who was then president of the club, to clear him of the scandal.

AFL spin doctor Sharon McCrohan has already been hit with a legal letter, warning her to preserve all correspondence relating to her involvement in the saga.

Luke Sayers. Picture: Ian Currie

It is understood AFL commission chairman Craig Drummond and league chief executive Andrew Dillon are aware of the letter.

McCrohan - a former media advisor to premier Steve Bracks, federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten and the CFMEU - was engaged by Mr Sayers to crisis-manage the dick pic fallout early last year, before landing her current job as head of the league’s corporate affairs department.

Mrs Sayers is suing her husband over a statutory declaration he submitted to the AFL integrity unit, in which he blamed Cate for the posting of the photograph of his penis in January last year.

A series of communications between multiple AFL figures including league general counsel Stephen Meade, integrity unit boss Tony Keane and ex-corporate affairs chief Brian Walsh with members of the Sayers camp, including McCrohan, are understood to be central to Mrs Sayers’ case.

Stephen Meade. Picture: Getty Images

Former Labor minister Martin Pakula, who was working as a consultant for the AFL at the time, is also expected to be issued with a subpoena.

Briefings given to senior Melbourne football journalists who published articles favourable to Mr Sayers’ version of events are also under scrutiny.

At least one senior AFL figure is accused of repeating the claim that former PwC chief Mr Sayers was responsible for the lewd posting to journalists in recent weeks.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers claim the AFL integrity unit made no attempt to verify any of Mr Sayers’ claims in the statutory declaration and have accused the three parties of releasing coordinated media statements as part of the collusion strategy.

Brian Walsh. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Martin Pakula. Picture: Getty Images
“The public communications of the AFL, Carlton and Luke were issued simultaneously and aligned in terms of messaging,” a filing last week said.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers further allege that the investigations conducted by the AFL and Carlton were “not conducted adequately or honestly”.

A key focus of the Supreme Court fight is the involvement of Mr Sayers’ camp in the drafting of an AFL statement released on January 21 last year which cleared the Blues supremo of breaching any competition respect and responsibility rules.

The statement included the assertion that the picture of the penis had been “posted by a person not being Luke Sayers”.

Text messages between some of the AFL’s highest-ranked officials and members of the Sayers camp immediately after the resolution of the probe are also expected to be subpoenaed.

In last week’s filing, Cate’s lawyers said that documents would be sought from “relevant parties” under discovery and subpoena.

Sayers resigned from Carlton early last year. Picture: Michael Klein

One AFL insider said Ms McCrohan had appeared distracted in recent weeks and was often seen cutting laps in the bowels of Marvel Stadium in deep conversation on her mobile phone.

“Rule 1.01 in media and reputation management is that you don’t let yourself become the story,” the league figure said.

“But Sharon’s underlings are now fielding more questions about her than any other issue.”

Ms McCrohan came to prominence in the late 1990s as a crisis communications expert as Mr Bracks’ media chief.

She had previously advised Mr Sayers during a parliamentary inquiry into a PwC tax leak scandal.

Ms McCrohan replaced Mr Walsh, who now works for the DAZN-owned Australian pay TV operator Foxtel, last October.

The AFL integrity unit has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for its handling of scandals including the Essendon drugs debacle, Melbourne tanking affair and Hawthorn racism fiasco.

 

[Hojuman]

Dick pic saga getting more interesting.

Bombshell AFL texts and emails emerge in Luke Sayers ‘dick pic’ saga​

Text messages and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days following the eruption of the Luke Sayers lewd scandal threaten to reveal a cover-up.

Michael Warner

March 31, 2026 - 6:45PM

AFL texts and emails have emerged in the Luke Sayers lewd scandal. Picture: Michael Klein

Bombshell texts and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days after the eruption of the Luke Sayers “dick pic” scandal threaten to expose a cover-up.
The Herald Sun can reveal lawyers for Mr Sayers’ estranged wife Cate are set to subpoena correspondence between top league figures and members of his camp as part of the couple’s escalating Supreme Court fight.

Sources close to the feuding couple say the communications paint a picture of an AFL hierarchy desperate to exonerate Mr Sayers and accept his claim that his wife was mentally unstable and responsible for the posting.

In documents filed as part of their defamation battle, Mrs Sayers’ lawyers have accused the AFL of colluding with Carlton and Mr Sayers, who was then president of the club, to clear him of the scandal.

AFL spin doctor Sharon McCrohan has already been hit with a legal letter, warning her to preserve all correspondence relating to her involvement in the saga.

Luke Sayers. Picture: Ian Currie

It is understood AFL commission chairman Craig Drummond and league chief executive Andrew Dillon are aware of the letter.

McCrohan - a former media advisor to premier Steve Bracks, federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten and the CFMEU - was engaged by Mr Sayers to crisis-manage the dick pic fallout early last year, before landing her current job as head of the league’s corporate affairs department.

Mrs Sayers is suing her husband over a statutory declaration he submitted to the AFL integrity unit, in which he blamed Cate for the posting of the photograph of his penis in January last year.

A series of communications between multiple AFL figures including league general counsel Stephen Meade, integrity unit boss Tony Keane and ex-corporate affairs chief Brian Walsh with members of the Sayers camp, including McCrohan, are understood to be central to Mrs Sayers’ case.

Stephen Meade. Picture: Getty Images

Former Labor minister Martin Pakula, who was working as a consultant for the AFL at the time, is also expected to be issued with a subpoena.

Briefings given to senior Melbourne football journalists who published articles favourable to Mr Sayers’ version of events are also under scrutiny.

At least one senior AFL figure is accused of repeating the claim that former PwC chief Mr Sayers was responsible for the lewd posting to journalists in recent weeks.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers claim the AFL integrity unit made no attempt to verify any of Mr Sayers’ claims in the statutory declaration and have accused the three parties of releasing coordinated media statements as part of the collusion strategy.

Brian Walsh. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Martin Pakula. Picture: Getty Images
“The public communications of the AFL, Carlton and Luke were issued simultaneously and aligned in terms of messaging,” a filing last week said.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers further allege that the investigations conducted by the AFL and Carlton were “not conducted adequately or honestly”.

A key focus of the Supreme Court fight is the involvement of Mr Sayers’ camp in the drafting of an AFL statement released on January 21 last year which cleared the Blues supremo of breaching any competition respect and responsibility rules.

The statement included the assertion that the picture of the penis had been “posted by a person not being Luke Sayers”.

Text messages between some of the AFL’s highest-ranked officials and members of the Sayers camp immediately after the resolution of the probe are also expected to be subpoenaed.

In last week’s filing, Cate’s lawyers said that documents would be sought from “relevant parties” under discovery and subpoena.

Sayers resigned from Carlton early last year. Picture: Michael Klein

One AFL insider said Ms McCrohan had appeared distracted in recent weeks and was often seen cutting laps in the bowels of Marvel Stadium in deep conversation on her mobile phone.

“Rule 1.01 in media and reputation management is that you don’t let yourself become the story,” the league figure said.

“But Sharon’s underlings are now fielding more questions about her than any other issue.”

Ms McCrohan came to prominence in the late 1990s as a crisis communications expert as Mr Bracks’ media chief.

She had previously advised Mr Sayers during a parliamentary inquiry into a PwC tax leak scandal.

Ms McCrohan replaced Mr Walsh, who now works for the DAZN-owned Australian pay TV operator Foxtel, last October.

The AFL integrity unit has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for its handling of scandals including the Essendon drugs debacle, Melbourne tanking affair and Hawthorn racism fiasco.

" This sort of conduct undermine's the AFL's proud position as a professional, elite and family-friendly competition "



" We cross to the MRO for comment and Tristan Xerri "

 

[giantroo]

 

[shintemaster]

Dick pic saga getting more interesting.

Bombshell AFL texts and emails emerge in Luke Sayers ‘dick pic’ saga​

Text messages and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days following the eruption of the Luke Sayers lewd scandal threaten to reveal a cover-up.

Michael Warner

March 31, 2026 - 6:45PM

AFL texts and emails have emerged in the Luke Sayers lewd scandal. Picture: Michael Klein

Bombshell texts and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days after the eruption of the Luke Sayers “dick pic” scandal threaten to expose a cover-up.
The Herald Sun can reveal lawyers for Mr Sayers’ estranged wife Cate are set to subpoena correspondence between top league figures and members of his camp as part of the couple’s escalating Supreme Court fight.

Sources close to the feuding couple say the communications paint a picture of an AFL hierarchy desperate to exonerate Mr Sayers and accept his claim that his wife was mentally unstable and responsible for the posting.

In documents filed as part of their defamation battle, Mrs Sayers’ lawyers have accused the AFL of colluding with Carlton and Mr Sayers, who was then president of the club, to clear him of the scandal.

AFL spin doctor Sharon McCrohan has already been hit with a legal letter, warning her to preserve all correspondence relating to her involvement in the saga.

Luke Sayers. Picture: Ian Currie

It is understood AFL commission chairman Craig Drummond and league chief executive Andrew Dillon are aware of the letter.

McCrohan - a former media advisor to premier Steve Bracks, federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten and the CFMEU - was engaged by Mr Sayers to crisis-manage the dick pic fallout early last year, before landing her current job as head of the league’s corporate affairs department.

Mrs Sayers is suing her husband over a statutory declaration he submitted to the AFL integrity unit, in which he blamed Cate for the posting of the photograph of his penis in January last year.

A series of communications between multiple AFL figures including league general counsel Stephen Meade, integrity unit boss Tony Keane and ex-corporate affairs chief Brian Walsh with members of the Sayers camp, including McCrohan, are understood to be central to Mrs Sayers’ case.

Stephen Meade. Picture: Getty Images

Former Labor minister Martin Pakula, who was working as a consultant for the AFL at the time, is also expected to be issued with a subpoena.

Briefings given to senior Melbourne football journalists who published articles favourable to Mr Sayers’ version of events are also under scrutiny.

At least one senior AFL figure is accused of repeating the claim that former PwC chief Mr Sayers was responsible for the lewd posting to journalists in recent weeks.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers claim the AFL integrity unit made no attempt to verify any of Mr Sayers’ claims in the statutory declaration and have accused the three parties of releasing coordinated media statements as part of the collusion strategy.

Brian Walsh. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Martin Pakula. Picture: Getty Images
“The public communications of the AFL, Carlton and Luke were issued simultaneously and aligned in terms of messaging,” a filing last week said.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers further allege that the investigations conducted by the AFL and Carlton were “not conducted adequately or honestly”.

A key focus of the Supreme Court fight is the involvement of Mr Sayers’ camp in the drafting of an AFL statement released on January 21 last year which cleared the Blues supremo of breaching any competition respect and responsibility rules.

The statement included the assertion that the picture of the penis had been “posted by a person not being Luke Sayers”.

Text messages between some of the AFL’s highest-ranked officials and members of the Sayers camp immediately after the resolution of the probe are also expected to be subpoenaed.

In last week’s filing, Cate’s lawyers said that documents would be sought from “relevant parties” under discovery and subpoena.

Sayers resigned from Carlton early last year. Picture: Michael Klein

One AFL insider said Ms McCrohan had appeared distracted in recent weeks and was often seen cutting laps in the bowels of Marvel Stadium in deep conversation on her mobile phone.

“Rule 1.01 in media and reputation management is that you don’t let yourself become the story,” the league figure said.

“But Sharon’s underlings are now fielding more questions about her than any other issue.”

Ms McCrohan came to prominence in the late 1990s as a crisis communications expert as Mr Bracks’ media chief.

She had previously advised Mr Sayers during a parliamentary inquiry into a PwC tax leak scandal.

Ms McCrohan replaced Mr Walsh, who now works for the DAZN-owned Australian pay TV operator Foxtel, last October.

The AFL integrity unit has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for its handling of scandals including the Essendon drugs debacle, Melbourne tanking affair and Hawthorn racism fiasco.

What a sad devastating and surprising day when the words AFL and cover up are in the same article.



















Lol. Just kidding, as you were.

 

[footy2016]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

 

[Disco Dew]

Dick pic saga getting more interesting.

Bombshell AFL texts and emails emerge in Luke Sayers ‘dick pic’ saga​

Text messages and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days following the eruption of the Luke Sayers lewd scandal threaten to reveal a cover-up.

Michael Warner

March 31, 2026 - 6:45PM

AFL texts and emails have emerged in the Luke Sayers lewd scandal. Picture: Michael Klein

Bombshell texts and emails sent by senior AFL officials in the days after the eruption of the Luke Sayers “dick pic” scandal threaten to expose a cover-up.
The Herald Sun can reveal lawyers for Mr Sayers’ estranged wife Cate are set to subpoena correspondence between top league figures and members of his camp as part of the couple’s escalating Supreme Court fight.

Sources close to the feuding couple say the communications paint a picture of an AFL hierarchy desperate to exonerate Mr Sayers and accept his claim that his wife was mentally unstable and responsible for the posting.

In documents filed as part of their defamation battle, Mrs Sayers’ lawyers have accused the AFL of colluding with Carlton and Mr Sayers, who was then president of the club, to clear him of the scandal.

AFL spin doctor Sharon McCrohan has already been hit with a legal letter, warning her to preserve all correspondence relating to her involvement in the saga.

Luke Sayers. Picture: Ian Currie

It is understood AFL commission chairman Craig Drummond and league chief executive Andrew Dillon are aware of the letter.

McCrohan - a former media advisor to premier Steve Bracks, federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten and the CFMEU - was engaged by Mr Sayers to crisis-manage the dick pic fallout early last year, before landing her current job as head of the league’s corporate affairs department.

Mrs Sayers is suing her husband over a statutory declaration he submitted to the AFL integrity unit, in which he blamed Cate for the posting of the photograph of his penis in January last year.

A series of communications between multiple AFL figures including league general counsel Stephen Meade, integrity unit boss Tony Keane and ex-corporate affairs chief Brian Walsh with members of the Sayers camp, including McCrohan, are understood to be central to Mrs Sayers’ case.

Stephen Meade. Picture: Getty Images

Former Labor minister Martin Pakula, who was working as a consultant for the AFL at the time, is also expected to be issued with a subpoena.

Briefings given to senior Melbourne football journalists who published articles favourable to Mr Sayers’ version of events are also under scrutiny.

At least one senior AFL figure is accused of repeating the claim that former PwC chief Mr Sayers was responsible for the lewd posting to journalists in recent weeks.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers claim the AFL integrity unit made no attempt to verify any of Mr Sayers’ claims in the statutory declaration and have accused the three parties of releasing coordinated media statements as part of the collusion strategy.

Brian Walsh. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Martin Pakula. Picture: Getty Images
“The public communications of the AFL, Carlton and Luke were issued simultaneously and aligned in terms of messaging,” a filing last week said.

Mrs Sayers’ lawyers further allege that the investigations conducted by the AFL and Carlton were “not conducted adequately or honestly”.

A key focus of the Supreme Court fight is the involvement of Mr Sayers’ camp in the drafting of an AFL statement released on January 21 last year which cleared the Blues supremo of breaching any competition respect and responsibility rules.

The statement included the assertion that the picture of the penis had been “posted by a person not being Luke Sayers”.

Text messages between some of the AFL’s highest-ranked officials and members of the Sayers camp immediately after the resolution of the probe are also expected to be subpoenaed.

In last week’s filing, Cate’s lawyers said that documents would be sought from “relevant parties” under discovery and subpoena.

Sayers resigned from Carlton early last year. Picture: Michael Klein

One AFL insider said Ms McCrohan had appeared distracted in recent weeks and was often seen cutting laps in the bowels of Marvel Stadium in deep conversation on her mobile phone.

“Rule 1.01 in media and reputation management is that you don’t let yourself become the story,” the league figure said.

“But Sharon’s underlings are now fielding more questions about her than any other issue.”

Ms McCrohan came to prominence in the late 1990s as a crisis communications expert as Mr Bracks’ media chief.

She had previously advised Mr Sayers during a parliamentary inquiry into a PwC tax leak scandal.

Ms McCrohan replaced Mr Walsh, who now works for the DAZN-owned Australian pay TV operator Foxtel, last October.

The AFL integrity unit has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for its handling of scandals including the Essendon drugs debacle, Melbourne tanking affair and Hawthorn racism fiasco.

The gift that keeps on giving.

 

[SammyRoo]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

 

[Passmore]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

He's predicting we'll go winless the rest of the year I take it.

 

[DuckYeah]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

He could be right. We need to see more improvement. Also not having Xerri around for the next 3 weeks with 2 winnable games is a big loss to whatever structure we have. So yeh, spoon is still well and truly on the cards

 

[DuckYeah]

He's predicting we'll go winless the rest of the year I take it.

Could finish bottom with 4 or 5 wins?

 

[Disco Dew]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

You mean the Daniel Hoyne who said this of essendon a couple of years ago?

“The impressive thing if you’re an Essendon supporter is its getting better & better by the week. It’s continuing to be a profile we’ve not seen for a long time. The last 6 wks ranked 11th in terms of what they do with the footy.
They are the third best team without the footy.
So what they are doing defensively at the moment they are the second hardest team in the competition over the last six weeks when you win possession to get a scoreboard return from.
In my time doing this I can’t remember Essendon being second in the most important defensive metric you can look at over a 6 week period.
The number 1 team in that area is Sydney and they are only just in front of Essendon.
They are coming and they are coming with a rush now”

The bolded is my favourite bit

 

[Disco Dew]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

I don’t plan on listening. Gonna need some notes handed my way.

 

[Passmore]

Could finish bottom with 4 or 5 wins?

We could. But that would mean Ess and Richmond winning 5 or 6 each.

 

[giantroo]

Jumping for joy: Why some ruckmen will thrive under this new AFL rule

Already it’s clear the league’s new ruck rules are favouring a certain type of ruckman and threatened the future of some others.

www.theage.com.au

Recruiters are in the assessment stage – wary not to jump to conclusions from a small sample size – but already on alert for how it might change the types of players they need to unearth and prioritise.

They are also monitoring the real impact of hitouts to advantage to winning clearances, the change in the numbers of secondary stoppages and throw-ins, and the way the best ruckmen counter their opposition and adapt to the shift.

Six recruiters emphasised that ruckmen still needed all-round football skills, and it was too early to elevate or put a line through anyone, but all conceded the rules tilted the advantage to athletic and supersized ruckmen.


AFL recruiters have enjoyed their own wins against basketball, from the likes of Jackson to Eagle Cooper Duff-Tytler, St Kilda’s Alex Dodson, Eagle Jake Miles-Wrency, Melbourne’s Oscar Berry, Crow Indy Cotton, Richmond’s Oliver Hayes-Brown and most recently, North Melbourne’s Lachie Brewer.

 

[koshari]

Season way to open and closeness of the bottom 4 surely means its probably evenly split. I wouldnt say his prediction was completely probable but like i said 25 percent chance any of wc, nm, ess or tiggers could get the spoon. Would be pretty slim odds for any other team to finish below the former 4.

 

[Samsquanch]

They are coming and they are coming with a rush now”

The bolded is my favourite bit

A case of premature expectation by the sound of it!

 

[Hojuman]

Season way to open and closeness of the bottom 4 surely means its probably evenly split. I wouldnt say his prediction was completely probable but like i said 25 percent chance any of wc, nm, ess or tiggers could get the spoon. Would be pretty slim odds for any other team to finish below the former 4.

Left out Poo-ort Koshie.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Interesting that X's hitouts to advantage in the centre are significantly higher under the new rules.
May even out by years end though, but interesting early trend.

 

[LB2Snake]

View attachment 2568000

Did you think Bradshaw looked like he was Ai GR? He looked like he had a high def filter on or something. Weird.

 

[SpiderBurton22]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

Luffy's successor?

He should go into club land, might find a diamond in the rough like Jack Mahoney and Charlie Lazzaro.

 

[giantroo]

Daniel Hoyne has basically said we will win the spoon! Listen to his 6 minute segment on SEN…. Extraordinary.

11.20in

 

[Passmore]

Jumping for joy: Why some ruckmen will thrive under this new AFL rule

Already it’s clear the league’s new ruck rules are favouring a certain type of ruckman and threatened the future of some others.

www.theage.com.au

Recruiters are in the assessment stage – wary not to jump to conclusions from a small sample size – but already on alert for how it might change the types of players they need to unearth and prioritise.

They are also monitoring the real impact of hitouts to advantage to winning clearances, the change in the numbers of secondary stoppages and throw-ins, and the way the best ruckmen counter their opposition and adapt to the shift.

Six recruiters emphasised that ruckmen still needed all-round football skills, and it was too early to elevate or put a line through anyone, but all conceded the rules tilted the advantage to athletic and supersized ruckmen.


AFL recruiters have enjoyed their own wins against basketball, from the likes of Jackson to Eagle Cooper Duff-Tytler, St Kilda’s Alex Dodson, Eagle Jake Miles-Wrency, Melbourne’s Oscar Berry, Crow Indy Cotton, Richmond’s Oliver Hayes-Brown and most recently, North Melbourne’s Lachie Brewer.

View attachment 2568165
View attachment 2568166

View attachment 2568167
View attachment 2568168

Are the eulogies for X being written too soon?

Polled coaches votes in the first 2 games. And none of that looks too horrible.

 

[DuckYeah]

11.20in

He’s not wrong. Need to see cleaner skills and more speed on ball. Need to learn to pull the trigger faster.

I consider us lucky to get that W on Saturday.