New rule, bad result

Eagle Mark LeCras broke his arm in a clash with Docker Tendai Mzungu. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

HAS the AFL's new sliding rule claimed its first broken limb?

West Coast's Mark LeCras will miss up to six weeks after breaking his arm in a collision with Docker Tendai Mzungu, a collision that saw LeCras stop in his pursuit of the ball and Mzungu crash into him.

Both players kept their feet, which was exactly what the rule was designed to do - avoid forceful contact below the knees.

Only LeCras can tell us if he decided to not dive for the ball for fear of giving away a free kick.

Certainly, if he did dive for the ball there would've been contact below Mzungu's knees, whose commitment to the contest was absolute.

The Dockers midfielder crashed into LeCras, with the impact sandwiching LeCras arm between Mzungu's body and his own.

LeCras was then forced to leave the field with his arm cradled in his jumper.

Footage of the incident shows both players electing to keep their feet in a contest that saw Mzungu arrive first, by a fraction.

LeCras isn't Glen Archer in his desire for the pill, but he isn't fairy floss either.

The contention is LeCras had the option to dive at the ball and didn't.

The result was a broken arm for LeCras instead of a free kick to Mzungu.

While AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said players would continue to adapt to the new rule, AFL umpires boss Jeff Gieschen was unavailable yesterday for comment on the LeCras incident specifically.

The broken arm was desperately unlucky for the All-Australian forward. After missing all of last season after an ACL operation, LeCras suffered the break in the third quarter of his return.

"It's terrible for him. But depending on what it is, it's not necessarily a long period out," Eagles coach John Worsfold said post-match.

The setback, according to Worsfold, would allow his players to learn how to deal with loss of key players.

"It's not hard to cope with, because you just cope with it," Worsfold said.

"Players get opportunities, and learn and improve.

"But we want to get our best team out there as soon as we can, so we can see how good we are."

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Roos' ruck dilemma

Daniel Currie of the Kangaroos rucks against Gold Coast's Zac Smith. Source: Herald Sun

NORTH Melbourne's ruck conundrum will go down to the wire with the Roos considering a shock call-up for back-up big man Daniel Currie.

The Roos remain undecided on whether to select Todd Goldstein or newly acquired Currie for Sunday's clash against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.

It is unlikely coach Brad Scott will call on both for the Round 1 battle, with Drew Petrie and Lachlan Hansen also able to provide ruck support.

In another selection issue, former Gold Coast defender Taylor Hine is also in line to make his Roos debut as a back-pocket replacement for suspended backman Scott McMahon.

An All-Australian candidate in 2011, Goldstein is widely considered the Roos' first ruckman and remains slight favourite to lead the ruck department against the Pies.

But Currie's strong form over the pre-season could yet catapult the former Swan ahead of his highly rated teammate, with another impressive performance in Thursday's main training session.

Chief of football Donald McDonald said the club had a tough decision to make, with Majak Daw third in line as a developing ruck-forward.

"What's good is Daniel's come in and shown that he can compete at that level after he came to the club as a replacement for Hamish (McIntosh).

"And Goldy has had a good pre-season as well, so it's a good one for Brad (Scott)," McDonald said.

"Maj has been good in the practice matches as well, so the (match committee) guys have an opportunity to collect their thoughts after training on Thursday."

While Daw is more likely to miss the Pies clash, McDonald said the promoted rookie had shown encouraging signs over the pre-season.

"His marking has been good, but Maj also knows he still has a lot of work to do; he's the first to admit that," he said.

"He's still got some areas of his game he needs to work on.

"He's a late-comer to the game but everyone would love to see him out there."

Hine, 21, played nine games at Gold Coast and has impressed as a tough and hard-running tagger or backman over North's pre-season.

The Roos have welcomed the season-opening acid test against Collingwood after upsetting the heavyweights by 30 points in Round 21 last year.

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Sandi to miss up to three months

Aaron Sandilands is out of action and needs surgery. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

FREMANTLE have received mixed news on star ruckman Aaron Sandilands - he will need hamstring surgery, but should return midway through this AFL season.

The three-time All-Australian consulted with surgeon Julian Feller in Melbourne on Monday after aggravating the injury to his left hamstring.

Pavlich report thrown out

The Dockers announced on Monday night that Sandilands will be out of action for eight to 12 weeks.

"It's very disappointing for Aaron and the club but with the appropriate period of recovery and a structured rehabilitation program, it is possible he will be available for selection mid-way through the season,'' said Fremantle football manager Chris Bond.

"But at this stage we will have to wait until after his surgery and the recovery phase before we can be more specific about when Aaron will be available for selection.''

The Barometer: who's on track for Round 1

Sandilands originally tore the muscle during the pre-season and was expected to return in round two.

But he aggravated the injury last week and that forced the Melbourne visit.

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Steven, Armitage will rise: Montagna

St Kilda's David Armitage in action. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

LEIGH Montagna has declared St Kilda teammates Jack Steven and David Armitage will rise to the top of the AFL's midfield ranks this season.

While the Saints have a host of veterans in the midfield including Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo and himself, Montagna said the club had a stack of young players ready to explode.

"We've got Jack Steven and Dave Armitage who we both expect to become elite midfielders this year,'' said Montagna, who will miss Saturday' Round 1 game against Gold Coast through suspension.

"They've both had sensational pre-seasons, they're both in that 24 to 25-year-old age bracket where they're ready to really break out.

"If they can become elite, and it takes the pressure off Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo, guys like that. And Ben McEvoy's another one who's going to continue to get better.

"I think it's time and I think we're ready for it. Even if you look at our forward line, we have Milney who's going to keep doing what Milney does but now we've (got) (Ahmed) Saad, (Terry) Milera, Trent Dennis-Lane, if they can take a bit more of the work load, take a bit of heat off Milney, they might start getting the best small defender and Milney gets off the chain."

"That's the same with Dave Armitage and Jack Steven, we're expecting them at some stage this year to be getting tagged.''

Montagna said he was considering having a hitout in a practice match with Sandringham at the weekend.

He said key defender Sam Fisher, who was suffering from a foot injury, had not yet been ruled out of Saturday's clash while Rhys Stanley (knee) was in contention.

 

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Swans could be without premier players

Defender Marty Mattner is one Sydney premiership player who may not take to the field against the Giants because of niggling injuries. Picture: Phil Hillyard. Source: The Daily Telegraph

AS many as three members of the Swans' grand final winning team will miss the premiers' opener against the GWS Giants on Saturday at ANZ Stadium.

Swans coach John Longmire says he won't be taking underdone players into the contest. Alex Johnson will have re-constructive surgery on his knee this week and one or two of either Nick Smith, Marty Mattner, Mitch Morton and Shane Mumford will miss out.

The quartet played in last Friday night's reserves practice match against Sydney University after injury interrupted preseasons.

Swans cash news to us

"They probably all won't play," Longmire said. "They all played the whole game and got through without any problems and all pulled up fine.

"Each one of them has had something different (in terms of injuries)."

Defenders Mattner and Smith and goal sneak Morton are the ones in greatest danger of missing out on selection.

All three only played their first match of the preseason two weeks ago.

Mattner had surgery on his hip and Smith had a clean-up operation on his knee during the off season while Morton had his preseason interrupted by a back injury.

"It depends on what role they play and what other blokes have been playing in their position and what alternatives we've got," Longmire said. "We want to play the most competitive team we've got available to us. If that includes what they have been able to do over the last month."

Craig Bird is another from the grand final team who played in last weekend's practice after suffering a hip flexor injury and missing two weeks.

The midfielder from Nelson Bay is expected to be fit to play against the Giants.

The potential surprise packet of round one is Clovelly's Dane Rampe who is being looked at as a replacement for injured defender Alex Johnson.

"He's under consideration, whether or not he plays we're unsure yet but he has played every game in our preseason and had done a pretty good job,." Longmire said.

"He'd need to be elevated from the rookie list if he was going to play but he's certainly under consideration."

Johnson will miss the entire season after opting for a conventional knee re-construction rather than a LARS operation .

He will have the surgery in Sydney later this week and return to his home town of Melbourne for the first weeks of his recovery.

The premiers watched the opening match of the season as a group and Longmire has noticed his players are beginning to switch on.

"On Friday night the team sat down and watched the Essendon and Adelaide game and they're starting to get a bit excited.

"Everyone looks at the game and the focus goes clearly on this week.

"That's what everyone has been looking forward to."

The Swans coach predicts the 2013 season will be a very open competition.

"You look at the improvement of GWS over the summer," he said.

"Everyone has improved in the off season.

"You need to make sure you get off to a good start."

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What you missed on TV last night

GWS Giants coach Kevin Sheedy is back in the headlines. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph

DID you miss last night's AFL television shows? Rewind and catch up here on all of hot topics and big issues discussed.

AFL 360

* GWS coach Kevin Sheedy joined Robbo and Gerald Wheatley in the AFL 360 Studio.

* Sheedy discussed the shared responsibilities between himself and assistant coach Leon Cameron. "Melbourne is different from Sydney - we need to sell game as well as coach the game," Sheedy said.

* The GWS coach said his club should make a play for Lance Frankin, and placed his value at around $1.2 million a year. Said it would be 'enormous' to get him, liking it to when Tony Lockett went to the Swans. READ THE FULL STORY AND SHEEDY'S COMMENTS HERE.

* Bomber Thompson said James Hird deserved the big win in Adelaide after all the controversy of the past few months.

Lance Franklin has put contract talks with Hawthorn on hold until the end of the season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

ON THE COUCH

* AFL boss Andrew Demetriou was the guest in the second show the year.

* All the issues of the off-season were raised, with Demetriou declaring intergrity and pureness of the game was more important than anything.

* Demetriou said he believed the AFL had responded correctly to their off-season controversies.

* Demetriou has long been concerned about  the influence sport scientists were having on football clubs and he admitted the AFL should have intervened earlier. "Maybe they do have a place in the game, but the marginalisng of club doctors is unacceptable," he said.

* The AFL boss said he had no regrets about his well publicised two-month holiday during last year's AFL season.

* Paul Roos declared Gary Ablett Jnr is a better player than his father. "Gary Snr could do things no one else could, but I think Gary Jnr is a better player," Roos said.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou. Source: Herald Sun

OPEN MIKE

* Gary Ablett Jnr was the guest, who admitted how he nearly gave up football as a teenager. READ MORE OF WHAT ABLETT SAID HERE.

* Admitted he was homesick for the first year on the Gold Coast.

* Said part of the reason for his move to the Gold Coast was because he was no longer enjoying football and needed a change.

* Publicly expressed his support for Essendon high performance manager Dean Robinson, who is currently embroiled in ASADA's current investigation on the Bombers.

Suns skipper Gary Ablett. Picture: David Clark Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

FOOTY CLASSIFIED

* Former Bomber great Matthew Lloyd reiterated his belief Essendon will not make the eight this year, despite gritty win over Essendon.

* The new sliding rule continues to be a talking point with panel believing players will take awhile to adjust to it.

Jobe Watson and Essendon celebrate. Picture: Sarah Reed Source: Herald Sun

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Bailey fit and firing

Hawthorn ruckman Max Bailey is set to make his return against Geelong on Easter Monday. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

LUCKLESS Hawthorn ruckman Max Bailey is poised to make his comeback from yet another injury in Easter Monday's blockbuster against fierce rival Geelong.

Bailey has been restricted to only 24 games in seven years due to a devastating run of setbacks including three knee reconstructions and a fractured wrist early last season.

But the 206cm big man could yet play a major role in the Hawks' fortunes this year as the club's No.1 ruckman, after an encouraging pre-season campaign.

The 26-year-old is likely to get the nod against the Cats if he can get through the rest of the week's training unscathed.

Bailey returned for two senior games in Rounds 18 and 20 last year but was overlooked in the finals.

The tap specialist told the Herald Sun in the lead-up to last year's Grand Final he was desperate to resurrect his AFL career this season.

"Just to get out there, that was the disappointing thing this year not getting out there until late," Bailey said.

"Obviously the motivation is high because you want to get this sort of thing (Grand Final) again next year.

"I can improve so I'm pretty confident (of senior game time)."

Bailey's addition could prove vital for the Hawks as they confront a Geelong team missing its four first-choice ruckmen.

The man taken at No.18 in the 2005 national draft will have an 8cm height advantage over untried Cats ruckman Mark Blicavs.

Bailey's manager Shane Casley, from Elite Sports Properties, said the popular Hawk had overcome the knee and wrist troubles that had plagued his career.

"He's earned the respect of the people at the club for what he's been able to do and he deserves a break, so hopefully he has a long and successful career," Casley said.

"His head (space) is really good, he's just been trying to get through the NAB Cup, and, like everyone, get ready for Round 1.

"From his point of view his knees are fine, that's all done and dusted.

"He has put that out of his head and is getting on with playing footy.

"If he's up and playing I think he'll be a great asset for the Hawthorn Football Club for the next 12 months."

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Blues ready to fire under Mick

Carlton vice-captain Andrew Carrazzo says Blues ready to fire under coach Mick Malthouse's new game plan. Source: Getty Images

CARLTON vice-captain Andrew Carrazzo says the Blues are ready to put new coach Mick Malthouse's game plan into action.

While beaten by Brisbane in the NAB Cup grand final, Carrazzo said the side knows what Malthouse requires ahead of Thursday night's Round 1 clash with Richmond.

"I think we're a fair way advanced,'' Carrazzo said.

"Ask any coach and any team throughout the year, there's going to be slight little days where they regress a little bit and they've got to adjust things.

"We played plenty of good footy throughout the NAB Cup, that last game against Brisbane we like to think was a bit of an aberration.

"We've had two weeks to fix some of the things that happened and some of the way we played.

"We've had a good block of training in the last week and a half and I speak for everyone in saying we can't wait to get into it on Thursday night.''

Carrazzo conceded he was disappointed to be overlooked for the Carlton captaincy in favour of Marc Murphy.

"For sure, and I know Kade (Simpson) was as well,'' Carrazzo said.

"Now we look forward to becoming a tight unit and I think you look at all the good teams in the past, especially really successful ones, they've had a group of five or six leaders who really feed off of each other, who really support each other.

"You're not going to be able to be best on ground every week, you're not going to be able to be up and about every week so it's important that we support each other and give each other the necessary backing.

"All five of us in the leadership group put our hands up for it, from a personal point of view it's an amazing honour to be named vice captain.

"I know it sounds corny, but I barracked for Carlton my whole life, started as rookie so it's a bit surreal being named vice captain.''

Carrazzo said he could "possibly'' do a tagging role on Trent Cotchin on Thursday night.

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Cancer fighter Rowe pushing to play

Sam Rowe takes a solid mark during the NAB Cup Grand Final. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

SAM Rowe is expected to make his AFL debut for Carlton on Thursday night, less than 12 months after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Rowe, 25, impressed the Blues in the NAB Cup of 2012 before consulting a specialist after he consistently tired during games.

He underwent chemotherapy and was given the all clear by his surgeon to return to the training track late last year.

The Barometer: Round 1

With Jarrad Waite's short-term availability unknown because of a persistent calf injury, 198cm Rowe has emerged as a forward-line target along with Levi Casboult and either Robbie Warnock or Shaun Hampson.

Rowe was taken by Sydney in the rookie draft of 2006, and joined South Australian club Norwood after failing to make it with the Swans.

Playing in the same side as Nick Duigan, Rowe's contested work on the forward line prompted the Blues to take him with pick 44 in the 2011 national draft.

His form has been solid in the pre-season and his attack on the ball has won praise from his coach Mick Malthouse.

Carlton's selection for its traditional season opener against Richmond will be a hot topic today with 28 players in the mix.

Chris Judd will start despite playing just one match in the pre-season. Another player may well have been given the substitute's vest, but Carlton know Judd will find a way to get up for a match with serious consequences.

Both clubs are desperate to increase membership and an opening win is the best way to do that.

Players in the selection mix include Tom Bell, Josh Bootsma, Aaron Joseph, Jeremy Laidler, Kane Lucas, Simon White plus Warnock/Hampson.

If the Blues choose to tag Richmond's Trent Cotchin then first option will be Andrew Carazzo, although Malthouse was never a heavy user of tags during his 12 years at Collingwood.

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Let's get Buddy: Sheedy

Lance Franklin has put contract talks with Hawthorn on hold until the end of the season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

KEVIN Sheedy believes Greater Western Sydney should make a play for free agent Lance Franklin.

The veteran coach last night said he would pay the Hawthorn superstar up to $1.3 million a year to move north.

Money saved by the departure of failed cross-code recruit Israel Folau would help, Sheedy said.

"If it was my advice and it was on the table, I would say go after him," Sheedy said on Fox Footy's AFL 360.

"If you have a package of money left after (Israel) Folau (left), then you get it right.

"And then you might have a (Tony) Lockett. And that injection into Sydney would be fantastic ... it would absolutely enormous."

Franklin has put off contract talks with Hawthorn until the end of the season.

Sheedy, who will hand over the coaching reins to deputy Leon Cameron next season, said Franklin was worth up to $1.3 million a season, which would place him in the realm of the AFL's top earners such as Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett, himself the benefit of a huge play by an expansion team.

"If that is what it takes to get him to Sydney ... and I believe this team would blossom with another great player," Sheedy said.

The Herald Sun this month reported Franklin could be paid by the AFL outside the salary cap, for promotional duties, if he did join the Giants.

League boss Andrew Demetriou said the league would not be party to recruitment negotiations.

GWS is looking to establish a foothold in a crowded sporting market, not helped by the stunning emergence of A-League team, Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Swans were in a similar situation before Lockett joined the club in 1995.

Lockett was paid by the league as a game ambassador, similar to Folau, and Karmichael Hunt in Queensland.

"I would think it is a great opportunity ... if Franklin is ever thinking of leaving Hawthorn, and he could be - nobody thought Lockett would leave St Kilda at the time, or Barry Hall," Sheedy said.

"But the greatest thing the Swans ended up getting was those two key forwards."
 

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